Posted on 10/14/2002 5:13:45 AM PDT by Theodore R.
La.'s U.S. Senate race shapes up Landrieu says she''ll answer attack ads from challenger Suzanne Terrell John Hill / Louisiana Gannett News Posted on October 14, 2002 BATON ROUGE - Republican strategy seems to be to try to turn Louisiana's U.S. Senate race into a two-woman contest, judging from the television air warfare.
First, the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee has run ads setting up state Elections Commissioner Suzanne Haik Terrell as the GOP alternative to incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.
Then, last week, Terrell challenged Landrieu to a two-woman debate, without the two leading male candidates - U.S. Rep. John Cooksey, R-Monroe, and state Rep. Tony Perkins, R-Baton Rouge.
But Landrieu, whose polling has shown she has a shot at winning outright in the Nov. 5 primary, says she is not taking the bait, electing to stay on what she says are her key messages of pro-military, pro-education and pro-economic development.
"We are going to stay as positive as we can, but we are going to answer these attacks forthrightly," Landrieu said.
Landrieu's latest polling showed her with 54 percent, more than she needs to win against her eight opponents. Her aide, Rich Masters, said the polling, including a Republican poll shown Landrieu by a fellow U.S. senator recently, showed Terrell in third, behind Cooksey.
A recent Republican poll showed Landrieu with a lead but only at 46 percent - not enough to keep her out of a runoff.
While she wouldn't talk about the other candidates' standings in her poll, Landrieu did say all the polling data she has seen "looks very good, but we're not taking anything for granted."
A primary win against eight opponents "would be a very noteworthy victory," Landrieu said. "But if we end up a few points short in November, we will win in December."
Terrell, chosen by the national Republican Party as its candidate, is the beneficiary of what is clearly $1 million worth of advertising attacking Landrieu. Cooksey is backed by popular Republican Gov. Mike Foster, while Perkins is the Christian Coalition's candidate.
The Republican party's ads clearly leave voters with the impression that it is only a Terrell vs. Landrieu race.
"Republicans are trying to build Terrell up so Landrieu doesn't get the 50 percent she needs to win outright," said Louisiana Tech University political scientist Jason Pigg.
Landrieu's campaign has aired a sort of response, the Landrieu "truth squad," that responds to some of what the Democratic camp has called falsehoods contained in the national Republican ads attacking Landrieu.
Those counter ads brand Terrell the Washington Republican candidate and hitting back at "distortions" made in Republican ads. "We are going to answer the attacks," Landrieu said. "The Republican strategy is 'distort, distort, distort' and 'attack, attack, attack.' It's not unique here. They are doing that all over the country."
After Landrieu began airing the counter ads, Terrell challenged Landrieu to a one-on-one debate and to appear at candidate forums.
Landrieu "hasn't done any forums," Terrell said. "She said she's been too busy doing senatorial work. But she's been down here to fund-raisers, rallies, anything that is scripted. But nothing where she has to debate her record."
Terrell said Landrieu's television campaign answering Terrell means Landrieu "obviously recognizes this is a two-person race."
Pigg said Landrieu's ads responding directly to Terrell do carry a risk.
"Landrieu's focusing on Terrell could backfire," the political scientist said. "It is a calculated risk, but it is a risk because it is more or less accepting Republicans have been successful in putting Terrell in as the alternative."
Tropical Storm Isidore and Hurricane Lili delayed planned polling recently, so the campaigns are going into the final three weeks this week awaiting fresh data testing the messages.
But Master's said Landrieu's "baseline polling" - a major, in-depth poll in which voter feelings are probed at length - showed the attacks on Landrieu for her Washington home and becoming "too Washingtonian" were ineffective.
"The only way Terrell can get into the runoff is to make this a Terrell v. Landrieu race," Masters said. "Every poll we have seen has shown Suzie in third behind John Cooksey."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.