Senate GOP conference chair race heats up

The three-way race for chairman of the Senate GOP Conference has the potential to divide the top two Republicans in the caucus, several aides said.

{mosads}The fight for the conference chair is shaping up as the most closely contested of the GOP leadership races that have been spurred by the surprise resignation announcement of Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who will leave the Senate at year’s end. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz) is running unopposed for the second-ranking position of minority whip.

But a tight race between Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (Texas) is emerging for Kyl’s current No. 3 position as Senate Republican Conference chairman. Aides said telephone calls to Republican senators to shore up support would occur through the weekend.

Several Senate GOP aides say Lott is backing Burr for the conference chairmanship. He has called Senate Republicans on Burr’s behalf, according to one of the GOP aides. That aide said Lott gave Burr advanced notice to lay the groundwork for a conference chair bid before the Mississippian’s Nov. 26 announcement that he would retire from the Senate.

“He gave Burr at least a few days notice,” the GOP aide stated.

Burr’s spokesman said his office would not comment on discussions between senators, and a spokesman for Lott did not return two inquiries seeking comment.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is not involved in the conference race, according to his spokesman. McConnell is close with Sen. Lamar Alexander, leading congressional insiders to expect the Republican leader will throw his support behind Alexander like he did when the Tennessee Republican lost by one vote to Lott in the race for minority whip. Aides to McConnell say the talk is nothing more than speculation at this point.

The endorsements of the leaders could be critical to help sway votes in a race that could be determined by the narrowest of margins on Dec. 6.

One GOP aide suggested that Alexander had garnered more than 25 supporters in the 49-member caucus. But another Republican aide dismissed that suggestion saying the outcome is unpredictable since the votes will be made in private. That was evident last year when Alexander appeared to have a clear path for the whip position before Lott unexpectedly secured the spot.

Conference chairman is a crucial position that spearheads the messaging for Senate Republicans, and each of the candidates bring unique ideologies and positions that could have significant ramifications on the direction of the caucus.

The battle is between the freshmen conservative Burr, who has strong backing from the anti-pork-barrel spending constituency of the GOP caucus, the centrist dealmaker Alexander, who is popular on both sides of the aisle, and Hutchison, who is currently the Republican Policy Committee chair and one of the most prominent GOP women politicians in the country.

“There is no stronger and better advocate for Republican female positions than Senator Hutchison,” according to a source close to the senator.

Rumors circulated Friday that Hutchison would drop her bid for conference chair, with aides saying she may not be willing to take on added responsibilities since she might leave Congress as early as 2009 to pursue a Texas gubernatorial bid in 2010.

But the source close to Hutchison denied that she would drop out of the race, saying that she is the frontrunner for the conference chair.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said Friday he would not run for conference chair, but he may seek to head the policy committee if Hutchison vacates the No. 4 position in the caucus. That could potentially set up a fight with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who may mount a campaign for chairman if Hutchison moves up to the No. 3 spot.