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NASHVILLE — A display case in Lamar Alexander's Senate office in Washington contains one of his trademark plaid shirts from his 1978 gubernatorial campaign.

The way the Tennessee Republican's re-election campaign is going, he likely won't be forced to break it out.

Alexander, 68, used the shirt to forge an identity, but decades of public service have given him broad name recognition around the state. He also has an overwhelming fundraising advantage over his opponent, former state Democratic Party Chairman Bob Tuke.

"What I think is important, what I am going to try to work on in the next six years, is the pressure on the family budget," Alexander said after casting his early ballot in Maryville on Wednesday.

The way to help alleviate that pressure is to cut federal spending, develop clean energy and improve the country's health care policies, he said.

Tuke, meanwhile, has tried to paint Alexander as too closely aligned with the unpopular Bush administration and as out of touch with Tennessee voters. But his attempts to draw contrasts between himself and Alexander have been dampened by less campaign money.

The $820,000 Alexander raised in the third quarter alone was more that Tuke has collected for his entire campaign.

Tuke's campaign hasn't been able to find the same kind of traction as fellow Democrats challenging incumbent Republican senators in neighboring Kentucky, North Carolina and even Georgia.

But that hasn't stopped Alexander from pouring on a statewide advertising campaign that dubs him Tennessee's senior statesman and emphasizes that the senator "doesn't really care if you're a Republican or a Democrat."

Alexander campaign manager Tom Ingram has told reporters that the Tuke campaign's attempts to set up a radio debate between the two candidates has come too late for the senator to accommodate.

In responses to an Associated Press questionnaire on key policy positions, the two candidates showed how their stances diverge on issues like the economy and the war in Iraq.

Tuke, 60, calls the $700 billion bailout of financial institutions "Wall Street welfare." Alexander, who voted for the rescue package, argued it was necessary to ease a credit crunch that threatened the availability of mortgages and car loans.

"Stabilizing the housing market and reducing energy prices are among the most important things we can do to help families balance their budgets," he said.

Tuke said he would work to "repeal parts of the Bush tax cuts that favor the wealthy elite, end tax incentives that make it too easy for American businesses to ship American jobs overseas."

Tuke, a who was a Marine officer in the Vietnam war, said the U.S. has no reason to preside over a civil war and "it is time to bring a responsible end to our involvement in the war in Iraq."

Alexander said he supported the so-called surge in U.S. forces "so that we could make progress in Iraq and Afghanistan, move our military from a combat position to a support role without deadlines for withdrawal, and begin bringing our troops home."

Both candidates favor developing more alternative and domestic energy sources, though Alexander places more emphasis on drilling off the U.S. coast than Tuke does.

Alexander opposes abortion rights, while Tuke supports keeping the current abortion laws on the books. Both want to encourage more adoptions as an alternative to abortions.

The candidates both oppose same-sex marriage.

"I believe marriage should be between a man and a woman and that the people, not the courts, should have the authority to preserve that definition," Alexander said.

Tuke, a Nashville attorney, said he wants to leave the issue of civil unions to the states.

"If individual states pass laws dealing with other unions, that is their business," he said. "I do not believe there is a federal issue involved."

Early voting began on Wednesday and runs through Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 4.

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