Enzi keeps GOP guessing about Nov.

Nine months before Election Day, Republican Mike Enzi is mum about whether he will ask Wyoming voters to send him back to the Senate for a third term.

Enzi’s low fundraising numbers and the Senate GOP leadership’s repeated snubs of his bid for a coveted seat on the powerful Finance Committee have fueled speculation that the senator may leave Congress.

{mosads}But with a Democratic opponent yet to emerge and a likely smooth path to reelection, Enzi has the liberty to take his time and raise just enough money to win six more years in the Senate, Republicans say. The staunch fiscal and social conservative and party loyalist, who has held a number of public offices and was once an owner of a shoe store, won his second term in 2002 easily, capturing 73 percent of the vote.

“I’m not making any announcements because Wyoming people don’t like long campaigns,” Enzi said Tuesday. “The whole atmosphere changes once there’s an announcement.”

He added: “I’m not telling anybody; I haven’t even told my family.”

According to his most recent campaign filing, Enzi had $522,000 in cash-on-hand at the end of the fourth quarter of 2007, collecting just under $110,000 in receipts since the previous quarter. That is far less than a typical Republican Senate candidate at this point in the election cycle.

Seventeen Senate Republicans running for reelection have an average of almost $3 million in cash-on-hand at this point, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. There are 23 GOP seats in cycle this year, compared to just 12 for Democrats.

The low-profile Enzi won’t provide a timeline for his decision, but Wyoming candidates have to file their paperwork between May 15-30 and primaries aren’t held until Aug. 19.

Amy Larimer, executive director of the Wyoming Republican Party, said Enzi has not signaled his intentions to state party leaders. But, she said, “We are expecting him to run.”

Bill Luckett, communications director for the Wyoming Democratic Party, said that even though Enzi doesn’t have an opponent yet, he would need to raise more money to run statewide. Luckett pointed to fundraising numbers posted by the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) for his reelection bid in 2006.

Thomas raised over $1.6 million in the 2005-2006 cycle, according to CQMoneyLine.

“You’ve got to take it seriously,” Luckett said.

Some suspect that Enzi might be leaning towards leaving after he fumed about the decision by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to bypass him for a vacant Finance Committee seat.

McConnell appointed Sen. John Sununu (N.H.), a first-term senator and one of the most vulnerable Republicans up for reelection in 2008, to the committee, which has broad jurisdiction over taxes, trade and healthcare issues.

Enzi, an accountant by training, has long sought a spot on the committee, and last week’s snub was the second time this Congress he has been bypassed in favor of a more junior member.

After Thomas died last year, McConnell appointed the more junior Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), who is in charge of the Senate GOP election strategy, to the committee. Enzi was thought to have the inside track at that time too because the death of Thomas left Wyoming without a representative on the powerful panel.

Asked for his reaction last week after the latest snub, Enzi told The Hill: “Sure. I’m pissed.”

Elly Pickett, press secretary for Enzi, said the senator will talk with his constituents “about his intentions [on seeking reelection] at the appropriate time and place.”

“Right now Sen. Enzi is working on his 10 steps healthcare bill, among many other issues,” Pickett added.