The cozy, two-story home at 11th and New Hampshire streets might seem a little too cozy to its occupants at times this summer.

The building houses the law offices of both Charles Branson and Martin Miller, opponents in Democratic primary for district attorney. Branson’s office is on the first floor, but his campaign headquarters is about five steps from Miller’s office on the second floor.

The two aren’t in practice together, but they and two other attorneys share a receptionist, a front entrance and a first-floor waiting area. Noise travels inside the building, enough so that recently in the waiting area, Miller could be heard answering his phone upstairs.

But both candidates are playing down the “house divided” issue.

“I think that people do feel a little bit of tension” around the building, Miller said Friday as he sat at his desk. “I’m just going about my business. I don’t want to get involved in any mudslinging or dirty business.”

Said Branson, sitting downstairs at his desk, “I don’t think the mood’s been different at all, really. Martin and I don’t really discuss it much.”

Juanita Carlson, whose law office is upstairs near Miller’s, is doing her part to keep the peace. She said she told both candidates they each had strengths they could bring to the job if elected. Then she told them she wouldn’t declare an allegiance.

“They seem to be cordial to each other and professional,” Carlson said.

Miller touts his 20-plus years of legal experience as one of his biggest strengths compared with Branson, who has 8 years of experience. Miller spent 11 years as an assistant prosecutor in the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office before turning to defense work in the mid-1990s.

Charles Branson, left, and Martin Miller are both competing for the Democratic nomination for Douglas County district attorney. The two attorneys share office space in a converted house at 1046 N.H.

Branson, a defense attorney and part-time Eudora city prosecutor, is running on a platform that includes plans to start a consumer-protection division and improve services for victims and witnesses.

The winner of the Aug. 3 primary will square off against Republican incumbent Christine Kenney, who hasn’t been challenged since she was first elected in 1996.