RALEIGH - At a recent fundraiser, U.S. Rep. Brad Miller told supporters he was reluctant to introduce his guest, a member of the German parliament on a visit to observe American politics.

"It does kind of confirm what Vernon Robinson might say about me -- that I actually do know Europeans," Miller said.

Robinson, a Republican firebrand, has criticized Miller for, among other things, having been educated in "the socialist schools of Europe" because the Democrat earned a graduate degree at the London School of Economics. And so the visiting Bundestag member got a rare view of one of the bitterest U.S. congressional races, one dominated by divisive issues: illegal immigration, homosexuality, Vietnamese prostitutes, abortion.

Robinson, 51, is trying to kick up enough dust to cause voters to rethink their support for Miller, 53, a Raleigh lawyer seeking a third term in Congress representing the 13th District.

Miller has won handily in North Carolina's newest district -- created after the 2000 Census because of the state's rapid growth -- with 55 percent and 59 percent of the vote. But he is taking the race seriously because of Robinson's provocative campaign style and ability to raise a war chest.

The biting criticism of Miller has come in TV ads, mailings and automatic phone calls. In one TV ad featuring a burning American flag and police blotter pictures of child molesters, an announcer says: "You needed that job and you were the best qualified, but they gave it to an illegal alien so they could pay him under the table. It's happening all over America because of politicians like your congressman, Brad Miller."

Robinson, who hopes to ride sentiment against illegal immigration to Washington, has run ads that include both sharp criticism and humor. One anti-Mexican immigrant commercial features a mariachi band. Another, featuring Beverly Hillbillies music, tells illegal immigrants to put on their shoes and go home.

"I became a candidate for Congress in the 13th District because we need to secure the borders of the U.S. and make English the official language," he told supporters at his North Raleigh headquarters over the weekend. "Seven thousand people crossed the border illegally yesterday. Seven thousand will cross it tonight. Seven thousand will cross it illegally tomorrow night. Every one of them will work for less than you will and for no benefits. That is a direct attack on the middle class."

Robinson has offered few specifics other than a need to enforce the border. Miller says it's not practical to deport 12 million illegal immigrants, but he recently voted to build a 700-mile fence along the border.

Robinson, who runs an advocacy organization for charter schools, has run for office 11 times in North Carolina. Although he won only two races -- contests for Winston-Salem City Council -- he has run several competitive races. He raised nearly $3 million for a congressional race in 2004.

Both campaigns agree that Robinson has spent less than $60,000 on TV -- a small amount in a district that includes two expensive media markets. Miller has spent a like amount on Greensboro-area cable stations to shore up support in the Virginia-border counties where he is less well-known.

Ads with bite

But Robinson's ads often create a buzz among people who follow politics.

Most recently, Robinson ran an ad accusing Miller of having failed to vote for body armor for U.S. troops in Iraq but of having voted for federal health grants to study such exotic subjects as the sex lives of Vietnamese prostitutes and the masturbation habits of elderly men. Miller missed the armor vote because he was visiting troops in Iraq. Miller did vote against a Republican amendment to force the National Institutes of Health to cancel five grants that dealt with sexual studies.

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