By SCOTT DYER sdyer@theadvocate.com and MARSHA SHULER

Three black state senators are warning that U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-New Orleans, could suffer from a light turnout of black voters in the Dec. 7 runoff.

State Sen. Greg Tarver, D-Shreveport, said Landrieu desperately needs a strong black turnout to beat Republican challenger Suzanne Terrell next month.

Support from black voters helped Landrieu win 46 percent of the vote in Tuesday's Senate election compared with Terrell's 27 percent.

But Tarver said Landrieu is facing an uphill battle for a majority vote in the runoff because Terrell is likely to get the votes cast for Republicans John Cooksey and Tony Perkins, who placed third and fourth.

"She's in serious trouble, very serious trouble. When you add up the votes of all the Republicans, they are more than what she got Tuesday. And those (Republican) votes will be there on Dec. 7," said Tarver.

Tarver said he stayed out of the U.S. Senate race because Landrieu has "not been supportive of black issues."

"I'm not going to campaign against her. I'm going to serve her like she has served my people," Tarver said.

But Landrieu said she has served minorities well -- and has the voting record to prove it.

Landrieu got a 91 percent favorable rating on the latest legislative report card by the NAACP, the nation's largest civil-rights group, based on congressional votes from Jan. 3 through June 7.

"They rate all of the senators and House members about their votes that are relative to issues that the black community is concerned about," Landrieu said.

The only Louisiana congressional delegation member with a higher rating was Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, with 94 percent.

Landrieu said she has not just worked to represent black people but has tried to represent all people in Louisiana.

In Baton Rouge, former congressman and current state Sen. Cleo Fields said he has no plans to use his political clout to promote Landrieu on Dec. 7. "I just think we can't afford to have two Republican parties -- one is enough," Fields said.

"The first thing she did was to start running about how close she was to (Republican President) George Bush and how she had a 74 percent voting record with him. Now, how's that going to turn me on?" Fields said.

Fields has been at odds with Landrieu since she failed to endorse him in the 1995 governor's-race runoff against Mike Foster.

Like Tarver, Fields said he doesn't plan to campaign against Landrieu but doesn't plan to actively help her, either.

"Don't get me wrong: The blacks who go to the polls will vote for her. But the question is, will they go? They are not motivated," Fields said.

Landrieu said she votes with Bush when she believes he's right, but she said she is not a rubber stamp.

She said she evaluates each issue based on how it will affect her constituents and votes accordingly -- without any real regard for Bush's position.

Landrieu noted that if Terrell is elected, she will side with the president much more often.

In Acadiana, Sen. Don Cravins, D-Arnaudville, said Landrieu's lukewarm support among black leaders like himself stems from a lack of communication.

"I don't think she has committed a sin that cannot be forgiven, but I think she needs to talk to people and tell them, 'I made a mistake,'" Cravins said.

"If the connection is not made with the (black) community, the turnout on Dec. 7 is going to be miserable, and I think she can just about get ready to be beat," Cravins said.

Cravins said he heard from Landrieu on the day of her 1996 runoff against former state Rep. Woody Jenkins but then didn't hear from her again until two and a half months ago.

"I got a phone call from her while I was driving from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, and it was as though nothing had happened, as though time had disappeared or something.

"She said, 'We're going to do this and we're going to do that,' and I said, 'We're not going to do anything because I can't be talked to every six years,'" Cravins said.

Cravins said he has a constant flow of people at his office who have problems involving federal programs.

"We're not looking for a handout. All I'm looking for is a little bit of help," Cravins said.

State Sen. Kip Holden, D-Baton Rouge, said Landrieu always has responded when he's contacted her office with a constituent's problem related to the federal government.

Holden said he hopes Fields, Tarver and Cravins will find a way to put their differences with Landrieu aside and support her on Dec. 7.

"Regardless of the position they take, I believe there will be a larger rallying cry that will propel African-American voters to turn out in greater numbers than what we saw in the last election," Holden said.

Secretary of State Fox McKeithen said in Tuesday's election, white voter turnout was more than 50 percent, and black voter turnout ran about 15 percent less. Black voters make up about a third of the state's voters, so the gap involves a significant number of votes.

State Rep. Arthur Morrell, who chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, said the turnout in Orleans Parish was relatively low Tuesday because of the weather and the complicated ballot. Morrell, D-New Orleans, predicted a much better turnout on Dec. 7.

Morrell said Landreiu has delivered a lot of good things for Louisiana, including jobs.

"A U.S. senator doesn't do things like get a classroom for a schoolhouse in your community. They deal with issues that involve billions of dollars," said Morrell.

Shreveport-based political consultant Elliott Stonecipher said there was not as strong a get-out-the vote effort in black communities statewide leading up to Tuesday's election.

In the runoff election, a lot will depend on how much money is available for those get-out-the-vote operations influenced by politicians such as Fields and Tarver, Stonecipher said. "The Cleos and the Gregs are salivating at this point. They are some going to get paid this time." Stonecipher said.

Ben Jeffers, chairman of the state Democratic Party and a longtime friend of Fields', said "clearly there are some fences that need to be mended."

Jeffers said he and Landrieu are working to "bring Democrats back into the fold.".

"I think you will see a larger effort, more comprehensive effort in December. The stakes are a lot larger," Jeffers said.

Cravins said the importance of black voters in close elections is highlighted by the victory of state Sen. Foster Campbell, D-Elm Grove, in his bid for the Public Service Commission. Campbell narrowly edged out incumbent Public Service Commissioner Don Owen to represent north Louisiana on the utility-regulating commission.

"We did everything we could to help Campbell, and he got 90 percent of the black vote in that race. That put him over, because he only won by about 3,000 votes," Cravins said.

-- Anonymous, November 10, 2002