Nashville
HOWARD DEAN famously groused that southerners vote on "guns, God, and gays." Harold Ford Jr. seems to agree. The five-term Tennessee congressman has a TV ad in which he walks among church pews. On the campaign trail, he hands out "business cards" with his name on the front and the Ten Commandments on the back. During one debate he stressed the importance of "putting God first." He recently told an audience in the West Tennessee town of Camden, "I love Jesus."

Standard Republican boilerplate? Not quite. Ford is a Democrat, looking to fill the Senate seat vacated by retiring GOP majority leader Bill Frist. By drenching his message in pious imagery, he hopes to bridge the "God gap" that often vexes Democrats stumping in the South. While in rural Camden, Ford also talked tough on illegal immigration, boasted of his votes for tax cuts, and threw in some kind words about Ronald Reagan. He refuses to be tarred as a "liberal Democrat," and he has made striking gains among traditionally Republican voters, expanding the ranks of his support well beyond his inner-city base in Memphis.

If it seems like "Harold Ford" has been in Congress for several decades, that's because Ford took over Tennessee's 9th district from his father, Harold Ford Sr., who served for 22 years. The largely black district covers most of urban Memphis, where the Ford family has built an effective political machine. If elected next month, Harold Ford Jr. will be the first African-American senator from the South

He has certainly run a shrewd campaign. Ford's nimble appeal to rural, conservative, and God-fearing Tennesseans could serve as a case study for Democrats seeking to make inroads in the Bible belt. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spokesman Phil Singer says Ford "has been very smart" about courting GOP voters on their turf, both geographically and ideologically.

A recent headline in the Memphis Commercial Appeal spoke volumes: "On guns, gays and God, Corker and Ford agree." Bob Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga, is the Republican Senate nominee. He and Ford both claim to oppose gun control, support the Federal Marriage Amendment, support an anti-flag-burning amendment, and favor school prayer. They differ somewhat on abortion, but both identify themselves as "pro-life."

Ford, a 36-year-old bachelor, has been a rising star in the Democratic party virtually since he entered Congress in 1997 at the age of 26. He gave the keynote speech at the 2000 convention, and mulled Senate bids in 2000 and 2002 before deciding to wait until this year. After the 2002 election he challenged Nancy Pelosi for the post of House minority leader, saying the Californian was too liberal. The caucus vote went 177-29 in Pelosi's favor, but Ford used the moment to boost his visibility and improve his standing among party moderates.

His record in the House is mixed, but on balance Ford cuts a centrist (if at times partisan) figure. An avowed New Democrat, he has voted to trim capital-gains and estate taxes, but also opposed the two major GOP tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. He touted the benefits of private Social Security accounts during the late 1990s, but changed his tune when President Bush took up the cause.