Democrats' odds of stealing a Republican Senate seat in Georgia grew a little longer Tuesday, when no candidate received 50% of the primary vote, extending the Democratic nominating process by three weeks. The winner of the August 5 runoff will face incumbent Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is running for his first re-election since knocking off Sen. Max Cleland in 2002.

DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones had hoped to secure the nomination Tuesday, but came up 10 points shy of the necessary votes. He will now face former state Rep. Jim Martin, who finished second with 34%. Mr. Martin is favored by national Democrats as well as by the state's largest newspaper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which endorsed him last month. Mr. Jones, meanwhile, has fared slightly better against Sen. Chambliss in recent polls, but has some possible character flaws that could potentially prove fatal in the general election. In 1987, he was ordered to take anger management classes after allegedly waving a gun at a woman. Tellingly, he lost in Dekalb County this week, despite his three terms as the county's top executive.

Although the national Democratic Party can revel in the fact that its preferred candidate survived the primary, the prolonged process forces both survivors to spend even more money before the general election race begins -- the equivalent of spending everything on the engagement ring and having nothing left to pay for the wedding. And they will definitely need money against Mr. Chambliss: In financial reports through the end of June, the Senator reported having $4 million in the bank, compared to Mr. Martin's $330,000 and Mr. Jones's $150,000. With a deficit like that, and only three months between the runoff and general election, the Democratic nominee had better hope Barack Obama plays "father of the bride" and chips in somehow for the wedding.