Despite his iconic status as a maverick and sometimes centrist, some Southern lawmakers say Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) could compete for Dixie states in the 2008 Republican primary.

McCain, who is scheduled to headline a Lincoln Day dinner in Polk County, Fla., on April 8, has visited several Southern states in recent weeks and has been cultivating Southern political leaders.

This spring, McCain will give the commencement address at Liberty University, a school founded by evangelical Christian leader Jerry Falwell. He angered some religious conservatives by calling Falwell an “agent of intolerance” when he ran against George W. Bush for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination.

Falwell, who did not offer an endorsement, told the Lynchburg, Va., News & Advance that he and McCain have put their differences behind him but that McCain still has fences to mend.

“I think to any presidential candidate, the South is important,” said McCain, who despite pointing out that he has visited other regions of the country noted the prominence of the South Carolina and Alabama primaries.

“He’s fully aware that he has to carry some of the South to win the nomination,” said one Southern lawmaker who is considering backing McCain.

Most lawmakers and aides interviewed said it is too early to tell how McCain’s second presidential bid will play with Southern conservatives, but several said they could envision him appealing to their constituents because of his military background, his support for the president on the Iraq war or his crusade against earmarks.

“He has some credibility with every crowd because he’s all over the place,” said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who, like most Republican officials, has yet to choose sides in the 2008 primary. “It depends on who he’s squaring off against.”

Some lawmakers questioned whether McCain could overcome his reputation as an agitator and outsider to claim support from Republican primary voters.

“I think they feel like he’s too unpredictable,” said border-state Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.). “I don’t think it’s that they don’t like the individualism; it’s that he seems to relish that.”

McCain’s efforts with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and others to establish a guest-worker program as part of Senate immigration legislation could alienate Southern voters who view the proposal as amnesty for those who have broken the law.

“I don’t think Southerners are going to appreciate his immigration bill,” said Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas), the former House majority leader. DeLay declined to handicap McCain’s chances in the South, saying he would need more time to analyze the race.

McCain already has at least a few ties to the South, where fellow Sens. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and influential Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) have said supportive things about him.

Such backing from political leaders could give McCain credibility in the South, where he must try to emphasize his ties to the Republican establishment to win, according to the Southern lawmaker

“Independence, in the South, is not a high virtue,” the lawmaker said.

Southern conservatives could be more inclined to back McCain based on his chances in a general election if Democrats appear likely to nominate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), some lawmakers said.

It remains to be seen whether McCain can execute a new Southern strategy, but Southerners have noted his presence.

“He’s been down there working hard. He’s got a lot of support,” said Republican Jim DeMint, South Carolina’s junior senator.

The two senators have collaborated on a campaign to cut federal spending, an issue that DeMint predicts will be front and center in the Republican primary. “I hear that more than anything else,” DeMint said.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) likened the primary fray to a three-phase relationship: a getting-to-know-you period, a courtship period and, finally, a marriage. He said that McCain can appeal to Republican primary voters in the South but that he is still in the first phase: introducing himself.

Like a prospective dater, McCain was coy yesterday, saying, “I haven’t decided whether I’m going to run or not.”

He had just wrapped up a one-on-one conversation with former White House chief of staff and Republican superlobbyist Ken Duberstein on a Capitol veranda.