Loyal Senate colleagues stand to gain from Obama administration

Long before the crowds and cameras followed Sen. Barack Obama, a handful of Democratic senators took a chance and backed him for president.

Now, as the first-term senator from Illinois prepares to accept his party’s nomination in Denver, Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Dick Durbin (Ill.) and John Kerry (Mass.) are poised to gain significant influence should Obama carry that momentum to the White House.

{mosads}Assuming all four stay in the Senate, they are likely to use the opportunity to push legislative priorities, move into Senate leadership, or achieve other ambitions. Those opportunities may be even easier if Senate Democrats increase their majority as expected.

Durbin, the chamber’s majority whip, helped talk Obama into the race at a time when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was strongly favored to win the nomination. Conrad was the first senator from outside Obama’s home state to endorse the Illinoisan. McCaskill was the first female senator to buck the wave of women supporting Clinton. And Kerry endorsed him in the critical early days of January, when Obama was still neck-and-neck with the former first lady.

“You get the president’s ear, and that’s invaluable,” said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of The Cook Political Report. “This is such a unique circumstance, since there hasn’t been a president from the Senate in almost 50 years, and the upside is that the president will actually start off with a relationship with the Senate.”

Durbin ranks second in leadership as the majority whip. His close relationship with Obama could put him in an even better position to succeed Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for the top post.

McCaskill’s Jan. 13 endorsement gave Obama valuable female support when he needed it; five days earlier, he had lost the New Hampshire primary to Clinton. She was narrowly elected in 2006 with less than a three-point margin over incumbent Sen. Jim Talent (R) and with Obama’s help during the campaign. Two years later, she has returned the favor to the Illinois senator while receiving plenty of national attention for her effort.

“I would look forward to having an ally in the White House on that,” McCaskill told The Hill. “And I’m happy to be a backbencher for the priorities that are important to the president, if it’s President Obama.”

McCaskill described her decision to support Obama over Clinton — who was hoping to break the gender barrier to the White House — as one of the most personally difficult of her young Senate career.

“The decision was not easy, but I’ve never had one moment of regret,” she said.

Duffy said that while McCaskill’s gamble will obviously pay off with an Obama presidency, she is unlikely to need much help.

“If you’re a McCaskill or a Durbin who’s seen at [Obama’s] side, it raises your visibility and national profile, and voters at home are happy about that. It bodes well for you,” Duffy said. “She’s proven to be a good politician with good instincts. She would be fine without it. But if in 2012 she needs to raise money and needs White House help, she gets higher on the list.”

Kerry’s endorsement on Jan. 10 helped Obama recover from his second-place finish to Clinton in New Hampshire. But it also required that he overlook his own 2004 running mate, John Edwards, who was still in the race at the time.

“I thought he had a better chance, and that was obviously borne out by what happened,” Kerry said in an interview, referring to Edwards’s recent admission of having an extramarital affair. “It was a choice for something, not against anything.”

Kerry dismissed speculation of a Cabinet position in Obama’s administration, saying, “I don’t have any other plans” apart from staying in the Senate, where he wants to focus on healthcare and energy legislation. Up for reelection, he faces a Sept. 16 primary challenge and then perhaps a general election contest this fall.

“We expect to have a stronger majority in the Senate, and we expect to legislate for the first time in years,” he said. “I think you would see a huge engagement between the president and Congress, and I’m really hopeful it happens for that reason.”

Obama had only Durbin on his side among his Senate colleagues last December, when Conrad on Dec. 29 surprised many observers by stepping out to endorse him.

“I was at the Senate gym, and he said, ‘Either you’re going to sit on the sidelines or you’re going to come out here and help your pal,’ ” Conrad said.

Jamie Selzler, executive director of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, said state officials would depend on a successful Obama-Conrad partnership for everything from farm relief — Obama supported the Senate farm bill this spring, while McCain opposed it — to protecting the state’s two Air Force bases from closing. North Dakota also has a high per-capita rate of casualties from the Iraq war that Obama has pledged to curtail, Selzler said.

While Conrad’s early endorsement would only have so much effect, Selzler said it has helped keep the state competitive for Obama.

“We’re in play,” he said. “All the polls here show a dead heat, and I think Sen. Obama sees an opportunity to take what has been a Republican state.”

Manu Raju contributed to this article.