Catalina Camia

USA TODAY

Democrat Michelle Nunn of Georgia is highlighting a campaign donation from Republican Richard Lugar, a former Indiana senator who was defeated in 2012.

Nunn received $5,000 from Lugar's 19th Star PAC, according to the political action committee's report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Nunn's father, Sam, and Lugar regularly worked together on foreign policy and other issues in the Senate. They are best known for co-writing a law aimed at reducing the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons around the world.

Michelle Nunn, a first-time candidate and CEO of the Points of Light volunteer organization, is being touted by Democrats for the seat of retiring GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss in Georgia.

She has demonstrated her fundraising prowess, bringing in $3.3 million since announcing her Senate candidacy last summer. Her total includes $1.6 million raised in the last three months of 2013.

"I am immensely honored and grateful for Senator Lugar's generous support in this race," Nunn said in a statement. "His tenure in (the) U.S. Senate embodied the type of pragmatism and problem-solving Georgians are yearning for in Washington."

Nunn has also received support from former senator John Warner of Virginia, another Republican who often worked closely with her father on key issues. Sam Nunn retired from the Senate in 1997.

Although Georgia has voted Republican in recent years, Democrats are hoping demographic changes and a divided GOP primary will help Michelle Nunn win her father's former Senate seat. There are several Republicans running to succeed Chambliss, including conservatives such as Reps. Paul Broun and Phil Gingrey, who are known for making controversial statements.

The Georgia Republican Party announced Monday there will be seven primary debates, starting Jan. 18 and running through May 10, throughout the state.

Bloomberg News was the first to report the 19th Star PAC's donations to Nunn.