Mary Landrieu picks up endorsements, Cassidy agrees to 2 debates

BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu has picked up the endorsements of several local politicians in her race for re-election.

The Democrat, who is fighting an uphill battle against Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La., earned the support of Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach, State Rep. A.B. Franklin, DeQuincy Councilwoman Andrea Coleman and Cameron Parish District Attorney-elect Jennifer Jones.

While Cassidy has the bulk of endorsements from mainstream Republicans, Col. Rob Maness, running to his right, has grabbed the support of tea partiers such as Sarah Palin. Landrieu, who says her role as the chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee allows her to advocate more effectively for the state, has the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as several prominent state Republicans.

Most recent polling has Landrieu leading the three-way race, but far short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff on December 4. Head-to-head match-ups between Landrieu and Cassidy show them essentially tied.

With qualifying for the election officially kicking off Thursday, all three candidates have committed to appearing in one debate, to take place on October 29.

Landrieu has said she'll participate in five debates -- October 8, October 9, October 14, October 27 and October 29 -- but Cassidy has only committed to appearing on the 14th and the 29th.