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.

How often the ad ran is a matter of dispute. Jeff Mixon, Robinson's campaign manager, said Robinson vetoed the ad after viewing it but that it ran a few times because copies had already been sent to several stations. The Miller campaign said it was aired more than a few times and was stopped only after a Colorado newspaper objected to the unauthorized use of a photograph showing U.S. military casualties returning home.

The race has yet to emerge as one of the front-line skirmishes in the national fight for control of Congress. Neither the national Democratic nor Republican parties -- nor their political allies -- has targeted the race. With a month to go, Robinson and Miller have spent only a modest amount of money in the district.

"It's pretty simple," said Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at N.C. State University. "It's a Democratic district in a Democratic year with a Democratic incumbent who has all the advantages that being a member of Congress entails."

The two candidates have yet to debate. They agreed to debates next week sponsored by WRAL in Raleigh, WTVD in Durham and WXII in Winston-Salem.

Robinson was reluctant to agree to the WRAL debate because it would be moderated by anchorman David Crabtree, who is a deacon in Miller's church.

Reaching the voters

Robinson has been pressuring Miller to have debates in all seven counties. When Miller didn't show up for an event in Granville County, Robinson came up with one of his political gimmicks to call attention to his opponent. He served fried chicken.

Miller has been more visible in Wake County -- which has more than half the voters -- with more events and more yard signs. Robinson has been playing catch-up.

One of the 40 people at the Robinson event was Bobby Price of Wake Forest, who said he liked Robinson's opposition to gay marriage and support of charter schools.

"I want to see someone replace Brad Miller," Price said.

Miller, meanwhile, has largely been talking about the declining middle class and pushing for more funding for community colleges and legislation to restrict predatory lending practices. He is also voicing opposition to the Bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq.

All of that sounds good to John Montgomery, 53, a violin maker from Raleigh, who considers Miller an accessible lawmaker who represents working people.

As for Robinson, Montgomery says, "I would be absolutely embarrassed if he were elected."

At a recent fundraiser at Montgomery's Raleigh home, Miller told backers that he was involved in "a strangely nasty campaign."

"We need to win this at the water coolers," Miller says. "We need to say these insane attacks [by the] other side are not true. My sense is that people are figuring that out on their own."

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