Democratic Party leaders, increasingly nervous that Gov. Gray Davis' strategy of keeping other Democrats off the Oct. 7 ballot will fail, are now grasping for a way to persuade U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein to run on a unique platform: Vote against the recall, but vote for Feinstein, too, just in case.

The discussions, prompted by private polls that purportedly show Davis losing in the recall, are expected to continue right up to Saturday's deadline for candidates to file to run.

And despite the fact that Feinstein maintains she will not run, Democrats are debating whether they should try to change her mind.

"There are people who believe that we might be better served opposing the recall and providing a viable alternative, an alternative Democrat who can win," state Senate Majority Leader Don Perata said Monday. "I don't think there's any secret that the only person whose name repeatedly comes up is Dianne Feinstein."

Perata, D-Alameda, was one of 17 Senate Democrats who met behind closed doors for nearly two hours Monday to debate whether the risk is too great that Davis could lose in the recall vote and leave Democratic voters without a major candidate to consider.

"I think it's a free-for-all, and everybody is afraid that if we do nothing we're in a very disadvantaged situation," said state Sen. Deborah Ortiz, D-Sacramento.

Like other Democrats, Ortiz and Perata did not say they think Feinstein should enter the race. But they joined other elected officials who concede there are fears about having Davis as the only Democratic option.

"The strategy of fighting the recall is a very good strategy," said U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. "I want to make sure it's working. ... If I'm not convinced that it is working, I think we should keep the door open to another 'Plan B,' which is 'no' on the recall and 'yes' on a consensus Democrat."

The Democrat most often mentioned, Feinstein, has not changed her position opposing the recall and wanting to stay out of the race, said her longtime adviser, Kam Kuwata. Her U.S. Senate term ends in 2006.

"She thinks the recall is a bad idea and she's doing what she can to fight it," Kuwata said Monday. "Right now, she does not intend to run."

Davis brushed aside a question about the recall and his lawsuit, filed Monday with the state Supreme Court, to delay the election until March.

"I have about 64 days between now and an election, and I'm going to allocate virtually all of my time to doing the job that people elected me to do," he said in a conference call with reporters to announce $119 million in federal grants for improving anti-terrorism efforts in California.

"I've got great confidence people in the state are fair and will make a good judgment, so whether I have 63 days left to serve as governor or three and a half years, I'm going to spend virtually all that time on what I believe are the state's priorities."

But Davis flew to Chicago for an hourlong private session with former President Clinton and meetings with top labor leaders on Monday to discuss the recall.

Separately, Davis supporters who oppose the recall spent Monday calling Democratic members of the state's congressional delegation to brief them on the lawsuit Davis' lawyers filed Monday with the state Supreme Court to allow Davis to be listed as a candidate on the recall ballot.

Currently, the recall ballot will ask voters if Davis should be retained as governor, then list a slate of other candidates who can be chosen to replace him. Davis' suit argues, in essence, that he should have the right to run also, even if he loses the first part of the vote.

The governor's political advisers said Monday that the calls were not related to any feeling that Democrats' confidence in him has eroded over the past week, as a handful of elected officials have said the Democrats should have a backup plan ready.

"There's got to be some hand-wringing as you get closer to the (Saturday filing) date," adviser Roger Salazar said. "But the smart thing for Democrats is to stay united and campaign against the recall by explaining to voters what it is, which is a right-wing coup attempt."

Salazar said having a second Democratic candidate -- even one who said he or she opposed the recall -- "just doesn't make any sense. All that would do is just confuse people, and I think the strategy that we've put in place and most agree with is we stick together and fight this together."

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown agreed, saying the best option is uniting behind Davis.

"I'm telling you, in my opinion, no Democrat can successfully negotiate those waters (except) Gray Davis," Brown said.

So far, there are no major Democrats running, although the ballot will carry some Democratic candidates, including Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt, who announced his candidacy Monday and said he would do polling to see if he could be a viable candidate.

"I have money, but I'm not going to pour it down a dark hole ... ," Flynt said, adding that many voters may object to his business. "Obviously, I publish pornography."

The California secretary of state's office said Monday that 344 people have indicated an interest in running, with 189 taking out papers to file their candidacies. But only seven are listed as having paid the $3,500 filing fee, and none of them is considered to be among the Republicans' or Democrats' "major" candidates.

That leaves a handful of Republican possibilities, including U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, state Sen. Tom McClintock, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave $50,000 to the pro-recall effort on Sunday and is expected to announce Wednesday whether he will run.

No major Democrat has declared a candidacy, and that is precisely the strategy Republicans are hoping for.

In recent days, Democratic National Chairman Terry McAuliffe and state Chairman Art Torres have insisted Democrats remain unified. But state Democratic Attorney General Bill Lockyer undercut that theme by warning that if Davis launched a campaign of "puke" politics, some party leaders could defect.

A handful of others have said they will run to represent the Democrats if Feinstein does not, and Republican strategists were elated Monday.

"The rubber's meeting the road," said GOP consultant Sean Walsh, who added that Democrats are "melting down" over fear that following Davis will lose them the Governor's Office.

"They see Terry McAuliffe, Art Torres and Gray Davis running at the front of this pack, and it's a pack of lemmings and the cliff is right up ahead.

"Some of them in the back of the pack, like (Senate President Pro Tem John) Burton and Lockyer, are thinking, 'You know, that cliff doesn't look all that appealing to us.' "