By DAN JUNEAU

The field seems to be shaping up for the U.S. Senate race this fall, and what once appeared to be an absolute runaway for the incumbent, Mary Landrieu, is beginning to look a bit more complicated.

While Landrieu would certainly still be considered the solid front-runner in the race, the addition – or potential addition – of candidates from the left and right of the political spectrum is putting a new spin on the election.

For months, the lone challenger to Landrieu was U.S. Congressman John Cooksey, who is retiring from the House of Representatives to make the senate race.

Public opinion polls have generally shown Cooksey trailing Landrieu by considerable margins, and those indicators tempted another Republican, Public Service Commissioner Jay Blossman (R-Mandeville), to declare his intention to run. However, after going out on the campaign trail for a period of time, Blossman pulled out of the race, leaving it with only Landrieu and Cooksey.

Shortly after Blossman’s departure, State Representative Tony Perkins sized up the race and eventually announced as a formal candidate.

Within the past week, Commissioner of Elections Suzanne Terrell (R-New Orleans) also joined the fray. Then thunder clapped from the left when former Congressman and current State Senator Cleo Fields (D-Baton Rouge) all but announced his candidacy.

It is somewhat rare in Louisiana to see an incumbent U.S. Senator draw opposition in an election. When it does occur, it generally happens at the end of the senator’s freshman term, as is the case with Landrieu. But it is totally abnormal to see four potential challengers surface to take on a senator, with one coming from the incumbent’s party.

It is no secret that there is bad blood between Landrieu and Fields dating back to Landrieu’s refusal to endorse her fellow Democrat after coming in third behind Fields and Mike Foster in the 1995 gubernatorial election. Fields now sees the opportunity to return the favor.

While holding out the caveat that he would not make the race if some other “acceptable” Democrat ran against Landrieu, no one expects any other Democrat – acceptable to Fields or not – to qualify for the seat.

That means Fields is the only possible challenger to Landrieu from the left. The former congressman rolled up impressive margins in his runs for Congress and got a respectable share of the statewide vote in his losing effort against Foster.

He would almost certainly drain enough votes away from Landrieu to force her into a runoff, either against one of the Republicans or himself.

The other curious factor in this race is the potential presence of three Republicans dividing the conservative vote and potentially placing the two Democrats in a runoff.

Terrell and Perkins would love to be a senator, but an acceptable consolation prize would be a showing strong enough to propel them into a statewide race next year with enhanced name recognition and a recently organized base of volunteers and financial supporters across Louisiana.

The downside of that equation is that, if they have a poor showing, they will all but take themselves out of contention for an important statewide office in the 2003 elections. Perkins and Terrell have much more to lose than Cooksey.

Landrieu is still the horse to beat in the race. The large field should bring more fireworks to the contest, especially if Landrieu ends up with a Republican against her in a runoff.

That election would be held in December, after every other congressional race has been decided.

If control of the U.S. Senate came down to this one race, Louisiana would be conducting a national – not merely statewide – election at that point.

DAN JUNEAU is the president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.