by Eric Ture Muhammad
Staff Writer

ATLANTA, Ga.(FinalCall.com)�"I want them to know and understand that I am trying to do everything I can to make sure that we keep a better perspective about the Middle East and I need their support this time," said 5th term Congressman Earl Hilliard (D), of his constituent base in the 7th congressional district of Alabama.

Rep. Hilliard, along with Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.), are seeking their sixth terms in Congress. Two relatively unknown opponents�Artur Davis, a 34-year-old former prosecutor, and former state judge Denise Majette�have gained noticeable attention. Both appear to be riding the coattails of a well-financed vendetta waged by pro-Israeli groups against the incumbents and both are relying heavily on negative press to rally voters to them.

Pro-Israeli lobbyists and organizations for years have sought to unseat the popular Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members due to the their controversial stances, particularly with regard to United States-Middle East policy.

"Yes, it�s a vendetta against me because I don�t go along with the Middle East situation and the role America plays in the Middle East. There is no doubt that that is the case. I have said over and over again that America�s treatment of the Middle East has to be redefined and redone. It is not balanced and it is not fair," Rep. Hilliard told The Final Call in an exclusive interview.

In 2000, Mr. Hilliard served as co-chair of the CBC�s Million Family March Task Force.

In one of the lowest voter turnouts in Alabama primary history (27 percent) on June 4, Mr. Hilliard, 60, and Mr. Davis finished in a virtual dead heat forcing a June 25 run-off. Ms. McKinney�s primary is not until Aug. 20. Analysts and lobby groups now believe they have a real chance in unseating the much-celebrated representatives.

"The myth of Earl Hilliard�s incumbency is firmly shattered," commented Mr. Davis after the primary results. He has offered to debate the congressman three times before the runoff. "If we have a contest with those debates, it can be a race that brings Blacks and Whites together. We have a chance for genuine discussion," he said.

Mr. Davis is also Black.

The 7th Congressional District, drawn in 1992, has a 62 percent Black population. Rep. Hilliard has never lost a race and has been in either state or federal office continuously since 1974. The low voter turnout left him just shy of winning�46 percent to 43 percent�the majority necessary to avoid a runoff election. With no Republican challenger, whomever wins June 25 will more than likely win the November election against a Libertarian challenger.

Third place finisher Sam Wiggins III garnered 11 percent of the vote. Mr. Wiggins in a news conference on June 7 formally endorsed the campaign of Rep. Hilliard.

Two years ago, Mr. Hilliard defeated Mr. Davis� first challenge to the seat by 24 percentage points, despite controversy concerning the congressman�s trip to Libya in 1997 and a House ethics committee probe of his campaign finances. This year, Mr. Davis launched an extensive television ad campaign publicizing those events, financed in part by money raised through the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

According to published reports, Mr. Davis spent $335,000 through May 15. Much of that spending was with campaign consultants and television commercials in the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa markets. In the last 45 days leading to the primary, he raised three times more money than the incumbent.

His support among Jewish community members blossomed when an anonymous flier, titled "Davis and the Jews," began circulating the district. Mr. Davis reportedly unveiled the flier during a Washington, D.C., fundraiser sponsored by AIPAC last spring and it has become a part of his campaign against Mr. Hilliard since that time. Mr. Hilliard denied having anything to do with the flier.

"I saw it and I was very disappointed," said Rep. Hilliard. "You see, I don�t ever introduce anything negative in my campaigns, I never had to. The flier even misspelled my name and called it, �The Friends of Earl Hillard.� My campaign has always been �Earl Hilliard for Congress.� I figured that he may have done it or had it done. The first time I found out about it, he was waving it before the Jews trying to get money from them, and he rode that horse," he said.

Mr. Hilliard said that what he has been unable to match in money is more than matched through service.

"This campaign really should be about the 7th Congressional District, what has to be done, what needs to be done and what I have done already. If you look at my track record, you will find I have been very successful and instrumental in bringing jobs and large payrolls to this area. I�ve brought millions of dollars in payroll here, I have brought thousands of jobs and because of my efforts, we were able to get Hyundai to locate here, Mercedes and many other suppliers for those companies. So, we are talking about thousands of jobs," he said.

Ms. McKinney recently generated headline by calling for a probe into what the U.S. government knew prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the negative press generated over her letter written to a Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who, during a visit to New York, said the United States should re-examine its strongly pro-Israel Middle East policy.

"The Jewish community is basically rallying behind [Majette] because we don�t understand the behavior of Cynthia McKinney at times," said Todd Zeldin, a marketing and real estate consultant who lives just outside the congresswoman�s district, in published reports. "There has been an overall exasperation with Cynthia McKinney�s insensitivity to issues that are important to the Jewish community."

In May, Ms. Majette released a privately commissioned poll showing her defeating Rep. McKinney among primary voters 41 percent to 37 percent, despite the fact that only 28 percent of those polled recognized Ms. Majette�s name.

"Denise Majette�s candidacy is a Trojan Horse for the good old boys from the bad old days and our campaign has confidence that the people of the 4th District, Black and White, will continue to support Cynthia McKinney�s principled and courageous representation," read a blistering statement from the Cynthia McKinney for Congress Campaign.

The McKinney camp said the poll represented at best wishful thinking on the part of Ms. Majette and that it was conducted in the throes of controversy mainly concocted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and right wing talk radio hosts.

"Since the poll was conducted, the Bush administration has been forced to admit that they missed repeated and specific warnings about a pending terrorist attack. The FBI is being reorganized and congressional hearings are underway to shine the light of truth in the darkest of places related to the biggest intelligence failure in American history. Since the truth came out, our campaign has been inundated with emails and calls of support from people in the 4th Congressional District.

"It is doubtful that Majette�s poll laid out the facts about her dismal record," read the statement.

Mr. Hilliard said he expects the CBC as well as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to assist his runoff campaign, but he won�t be able to match Mr. Davis� fund raising. He is hoping the people of his district vote their consciences and not worry about negative ad campaigns.

"This is a battle that is not going away, it is going to be ongoing. I feel like I am going to win but I need the people�s support. If they don�t live in the area or can�t come to the area and help me, they can send money. That is very important in a campaign of this short duration where we know that the opponent will be well funded," Rep. Hilliard said.