BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Three black state lawmakers say they are weighing whether to run for three U.S. House seats this fall as independents, a move that could splinter Democratic support in the races.
Senator Don Cravins Junior, Senator Lydia Jackson and Representative Michael Jackson say the state and national Democratic parties have failed to recruit and support black candidates to run for federal and statewide offices. They said there's disparity between how the party treats black and white candidates.
Louisiana has only one black member of Congress: U.S.Representative William Jefferson, a Democrat who represents a majority black district.
All seven of Louisiana's U.S. House seats come up for election in November.
Cravins said he is considering a run as an independent for the 7th U.S. Congressional District that is held by U.S. Representative Charles Boustany Junior, a Lafayette Republican.
Though he said the Democratic Party supports him as a state senator in a majority black district, Cravins said he worries that financial and organizational help would evaporate once he ventures into a congressional district that is majority white.
