Report: Ex-Sen. Sam Nunn’s daughter entering Georgia race

Michelle Nunn, the daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), is set to announce she’s entering the race to replace retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday. 

{mosads}Nunn will make the announcement official on Tuesday by filing Senate campaign paperwork, but she told the newspaper she considers running for the Senate to be “a way for me to contribute” to public life. 

“I’m excited about it,” Nunn said told the newspaper. 

“I’ve learned that you can’t wait for somebody else to do it. Everybody has an individual role and a responsibility to contribute where they can. This seems like a way for me to contribute.”

The Senate campaign will be Nunn’s first run for public office, and she’s been laying the groundwork for a campaign for several months. 

Nunn, 46, became the Democrats’ leading Senate recruit in Georgia after Rep. John Barrow (D-Ga.) decided against a bid in early May.

Democrats believe Georgia and Kentucky, where Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) is facing reelection, are their best chances at a pickup in 2014. 

Their odds in Georgia may improve if a crowded Republican primary field produces a flawed nominee in the GOP-leaning state. 

The Republican field currently includes Reps. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and Karen Handel, a former Georgia Secretary of State and executive with Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 

“Our opportunity is to define ourselves,” Nunn told the Journal-Constitution. 

“I’m going to talk a lot about the deficit. Neither side of the equation is really tackling that. I think people are really tired of the mudslinging and the silliness of this.”

Nunn said her father, who served four Senate terms, is excited about her decision to try and follow in his footsteps. 

“This is my campaign, but he’ll be supportive in every way,” she said.