7.26.00
A Tough Zell

7.25.00
Clinton's Complete Mideast Failure

7.25.00
Puerto Rico and U.S. Elections

7.24.00
The Mother of All Surprises

7.24.00
Don't Mess with Texas, Al

7.21.00
Slogan Mania

7.21.00
The Racism-Industry Lynch Mob

7.21.00
Beating the Limit

7.20.00
Price Ain't Right at the Fed

7.20.00
The Post Shills for “Hate Crimes”

7.20.00
Hollywood's Gender Apartheid

7.20.00
No Rare Cosmic Pollutants Need Apply

7.20.00
Litigation Lunacy in Florida

7/26/00 10:10 a.m.
A Tough Zell
Georgia's new senator will be a formidable opponent.

By Phil Kent, Augusta Chronicle political columnist

eorgians, and particularly Republicans and conservatives of all stripes, are mourning the loss of influential U.S. senator Paul Coverdell, who unexpectedly died on July 18 at age 61. The low-key but savvy Coverdell was Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's ''eyes and ears'' when it came to many a Senate battle.

Now, the GOP Senate majority is trimmed to 54 members. Gov. Roy Barnes of Georgia, a Democrat, appointed his predecessor and fellow Democrat to succeed Coverdell. Obviously, this gives former Gov. Zell Miller a big — and unfair — advantage over any Republican (or Democrat) who plans to run for the special November election. For a candidate to compete in this election, he or she will have to raise a minimum of $3 million in a short period of time. Few potential candidates have that clout.

It will be quite a contrast to see Miller, with his distinctive north Georgia twang, speaking from the Senate floor and siding with fellow liberal Democrats on everything from judgeships to racial quotas. The former governor has a temper that might rival Sen. John McCain's — again quite a switch from the always-civil Coverdell. Also, Miller got into a pitched battle during his first term by trying to cajole the majority-Democratic General Assembly to change the state flag, with its Confederate battle emblem. Key Democratic legislators, pressured by a big outcry, rejected the idea — and Miller was barely reelected in 1994 for a second term.

On the other hand, Miller has big positives. He retains the loyalty of key black leaders, and is popular for promising, and then selling to the voters who ratified it, a state lottery with proceeds going to specific educational programs. One of those programs is the popular HOPE scholarship, which has helped many Georgia kids with free, lottery-paid tuition and books. One can almost see the consultants crafting a theme: ''Zell's the one who gave you HOPE.''

Some in the camp of Georgia's centrist governor still suspect that Miller supported an opponent to Barnes in the 1998 primary (who later dropped out). And, ironically, it was Miller who beat the more conservative Barnes in the 1990 Democratic primary for governor. However, Governor Barnes — and the formidable Democratic courthouse crowd — will be a potent force behind Miller.

Miller's positives naturally pose problems for a Republican challenger. However, such a candidate can derive inspiration from none other than Coverdell's example. The underfunded and little-known Coverdell was 25 points down in the polls in 1992 when he began his challenge to liberal U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler. He had the courage to wade through a GOP primary to obtain his party's nomination, and then admirably girded his loins for the fall slugfest with Fowler. Coverdell campaigned tenaciously, and wore down an often visibly irritated incumbent. The Republican won in a run-off.

So here's the lesson to any candidate who challenges Miller: You'll never know unless you try — and that's what Paul Coverdell once told me.

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