Senate campaign mailout shows altered picture of governor

Louisiana state Senate candidate Greg Tarver on Tuesday accepted responsibility for a campaign mailer that contains an altered picture showing his opponent, Sen. Lydia Jackson, shaking hands with Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Tarver, D-Shreveport, said someone in his campaign did it.

The mailer was intended to try to tie the Democrat Jackson to the Republican governor, saying she voted for his most recent budget.

"I had a lot of mailers come out of my camp. They were put together by my campaign staff," Tarver said. "If that mailer came from there, it looks like she's shaking hands with Bobby Jindal. This is just symbolic -- more than likely that she always voted for a lot of (state spending) cuts."

The picture shows Jackson, D-Shreveport, shaking the governor's hand after a hearing at the state Capitol. The original picture was that of Jackson shaking hands with state Sen. Norby Chabert of Houma after a hearing on a bill. It was "photo shopped" to put Jindal's head on Chabert's body.

"Irony of ironies: The governor killed this bill by one vote in committee, so he probably wasn't congratulating me at the end of it," Jackson said of the picture.

Tarver is challenging Jackson for the Senate seat representing north Caddo Parish. He held the seat for 20 years before deciding not to seek re-election eight years ago.

Jackson said she doubts she's one of the governor's favorite lawmakers and said the mailer is nothing more than political deception.

Tarver supporters say Jackson's campaign began the deceptive practices with a political ballot sent out before the October primary election. At the top, it showed Jackson with President Obama. Tarver supporters said the flier implies the president endorsed Jackson. He didn't.