House GOP backs off immigration, avoids openly questioning McCain

House Republicans have resisted making illegal immigration a major campaign theme this year, aware that their presidential candidate is at odds with them on the issue and voters are more focused on the economy.

Many GOP members have previously questioned McCain for co-sponsoring legislation with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) that would have put millions of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship.

{mosads}But now that he is at the top of the ticket and trying to win over Hispanic voters — a group that could help decide this year’s election — down-ballot GOPers have toned down their comments and refocused on other issues.

“Republicans think immigration is the issue to seal the deal for them, but it hasn’t been that,” said Lynn Tramonte, policy director for America’s Voice, an organization that supports the so-called comprehensive immigration legislation that McCain helped draft.

Even McCain’s critics agree that the issue has faded.

“It’s clearly not as salient of an issue as people thought it would be a year ago,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative think tank devoted to border security and enforcement.

Of the 30 most competitive races listed by The Associated Press on Sept. 14, only 13 candidates have a section of their website addressing immigration. Reflecting shifting Republican attention, most of the sites feature sections on energy, terrorism and the economy.

Several campaigns say the shift is a reflection of what voters want to see addressed.

“When we’re out campaigning and going door to door, the No. 1 issue is energy prices,” said Tom Dunn, a spokesman for the campaign of Republican Tim Bee, who has challenged Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) for Arizona’s 8th district seat — which shares a border with Mexico. Dunn said immigration remains high on the list, although it is also tied into economic issues.

“The issue right now that we’re dealing with is the economy,” said Matt Leffingwell, a campaign spokesman for Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.), who faces a tough reelection challenge from Democratic state Sen. Dina Titus.

But another reason for the shift is to avoid the perception of the party rank and file and those running for the first time openly questioning their presumed leader on such a visceral topic.

Downplaying illegal immigration on the campaign trail leaves House Republican incumbents and candidates in a tight spot. On one hand, they are trying to win over a smaller group of voters, and depending on where the district is, illegal immigration could be a hot topic. But if they are too vocal on the issue, they could be seen as challenging McCain, who was elected to the Senate by a much larger and less parochial group of voters but could be hurt in the presidential election by public clashes with his party.

McCain survived attacks from Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.), who sought the party’s presidential nomination with a platform that focused attention on illegal immigration. Tancredo challenged McCain during the Republican primary debates on the topic, but other than that, his campaign never gained any traction. Tancredo is not seeking another term in the House.

Further dissonance in messaging from Republicans, Tramonte said, could hurt McCain’s chances.

“It’s absolutely a handicap for him [McCain],” Tramonte said. “McCain did have strong support among Latinos in Arizona and around the country,” she said, adding that that may be jeopardized by harsh rhetoric by Republican candidates.

{mospagebreak}President Bush made inroads with Latino voters in 2000 and 2004, progress some attribute to Bush’s high-profile support of broad immigration legislation that would have allowed most illegal immigrants to stay in the country, work and ultimately become citizens.

This year, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) seems to relegate immigration to the background, making it part of a larger theme. “The refusal by Democrats to address our nation’s broken immigration system will undoubtedly play into the larger theme this fall, which is that this do-nothing Democrat majority has cowered at the prospect of passing meaningful legislation on every front,” said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain.

Complicating matters are those Democrats in swing districts who ran to the right of their party in 2006 on immigration — such as Reps. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) and Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.). At the same time, Republicans like then-Rep. J.D. Hayworth (Ariz.) lost their seats that year for what some viewed as overly hawkish positions on immigration.

{mosads}Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman Doug Thornell said Republicans stalled bipartisan immigration legislation in Congress, which he attributed to political gamesmanship. “Rather than getting anything done, the GOP has embraced obstruction in a cynical partisan effort to position themselves for the upcoming elections,” he said.

Some Republicans — in unexpected locales — are relying on immigration successfully this cycle.

In Pennsylvania’s 11th district, Republican Lou Barletta has waged a tough challenge to longtime Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D), largely built on his reputation on immigration. Barletta earned national attention in 2006 when, as the mayor of Hazleton, Pa., he drafted one of the nation’s toughest illegal immigration ordinances. The measure, which sought to punish those businesses that hire illegal immigrants and landlords who rent to them, is currently facing a constitutional challenge in federal court.

“It’s not more important than any other issue in the campaign, but it’s certainly the issue people want to talk about,” said Vince Galko, the campaign spokesman for the Barletta campaign.

Barletta has maintained a measured distance from McCain. “We’ve made it clear: Sen. McCain and Mayor Barletta agree on certain elements of immigration reform,” Galko said. “But Mayor Barletta hasn’t endorsed anyone for president; he’s running his own race.”

Talk of moving a broad immigration bill in the next Congress that is lenient on illegal immigrants, regardless of the president, could refocus attention on the issue, Krikorian said.

Krikorian considers legislation that allows illegal immigrants to stay in the country as offering “amnesty” to those who committed a crime. “In 2010, if Congress does in fact pass an amnesty, then the midterm congressional elections will definitely see immigration as an issue,” he said.