By Terry M. Neal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 30, 1998; Page A06

Today's Republican runoff primary between Alabama Gov. Fob James Jr. and businessman Winton Blount is likely to be a close one that could hinge on, of all things, how many Democrats come out to vote.

The contest has been frequently nasty, and recent polls suggest voters are split nearly evenly between the two men. The race is widely considered a microcosm of the growing rift within the GOP between social and economic conservatives.

One poll of likely GOP voters had James up by 5 points. Another poll that included likely crossover Democratic voters had Blount up by 1 point. The Alabama GOP allows crossover voting in primaries and runoffs, while the Democrats don't. In the five-way primary June 2, James got 48 percent to Blount's 41 percent. James is considered the favorite of religious conservatives and Blount the favorite of economic conservatives.

The twist this year is that longtime Birmingham Mayor Richard Arrington Jr. (D), who is black and leads a powerful citizens' coalition, urged Democrats to vote and to cast their ballots for Blount, seen as the more moderate of the two candidates.

"I think if Blount were to win this thing, he would have a lot of Democrats to thank for it," said Natalie Davis, a political science professor at Birmingham-Southern College.

Both candidates worked for Arrington's endorsement. But now James has accused Blount of cozying up to the Democrat and giving tens of thousands of dollars to Arrington's citizens group. Blount's campaign accuses James of playing the "race card" in ads linking Blount and Arrington. "It's unfortunate that the governor still believes that you can still win elections by dipping back to the tactics of the '50s and '60s," said Blount's campaign manager, Sonny Scott.

Bob Gambacurta, James's spokesman, called the race card allegation a "crock."

Both candidates trailed Democratic nominee Don Siegelman in a possible November general election matchup, according to polls last week.