Will tea partiers stir up Georgia elections?

The good news about the tea party movement, Jack Pierce of Woodstock said, is that it's not organized in a conventional sense.

The bad, Pierce said, is that it's not organized in a conventional sense.

And therein lies the challenge for the burgeoning movement that has swept its way across the political landscape by tapping a huge vein of voter unrest with government at the state and federal levels. Can a movement with supporters easily numbering in the tens of thousands in Georgia alone but no real central core focus its collective energy in a meaningful way, especially with seven Republicans - the most likely recipients of tea party votes - running for governor?

The answer isn't clear. There are more than 100 tea party groups in Georgia alone, and while they all seem to share the same passion for limited government, fiscal conservatism and immigration reform, they're not always on the same page when it comes to strategy, tactics or candidates. In fact, some of the groups downright don't like each other.

Pierce, 48, a health insurance agent and tea party supporter, said that even without a central structure, the sheer number of tea party voters will force the candidates to "conform."

"Not because the tea party says you have to, but because they have so many conservative and right-centrists within the party, and that is so influential," Pierce said. "The conservative right, all conservatives for that matter, has no choice but to lean in that direction."

That might be where the tea party is having its greatest effect. It has forced candidates to incorporate tea party rhetoric into their campaigns and to actively seek tea party support.

The gubernatorial candidates are no exception.

"One thing that's changed in the campaigning is that in addition to going to local Republican Party debates and monthly meetings, we're going to tea party gatherings all over the state," said Brian Robinson, a spokesman for the Republican gubernatorial campaign of former U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal. "Many of these are highly attended, with very enthusiastic attendees, many of whom have probably not been this politically active in the past."

Doug Grammer, the Republican Party chair for the 9th Congressional District, said candidates are wise to reach out to tea party members.

"These people are going to vote, they are going to put up yard signs, and they're going to talk to their friends about who they support."

Doug Brownlee, an organizer of the Heart of Georgia Tea Party Patriots in Dublin, said the members of his group are motivated.

"We're getting folks who have never been involved in politics, that have never cared, but they're scared," he said. "The nation's going down the tubes, and everybody's scared. They're tired of screaming at the TV, and they're ready