Senator Dole Is Eyeing Leadership of Key Senate Committee, GOP Post

WASHINGTON – After maintaining a low profile in her first two years in the Senate, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina has launched an aggressive campaign to become the first woman to head the GOP committee that works to help elect Republicans to the upper chamber.The one-time presidential candidate and two-time Cabinet secretary has become the favorite to secure the job of running the National Republican Senatorial Committee, an influential body that raises money for GOP candidates and outlines election strategy.GOP sources said she is likely to fend off a strong bid for the post by Senator Coleman of Minnesota when the 55 Republican incumbents and senator select meet Wednesday to vote on the post. Sixteen senators have already signed a letter of support for Mrs. Dole, and seven have indicated publicly their backing of Mr. Coleman. Dole aides said, however, that the North Carolina senator has oral pledges from at least another 10 of her colleagues.“She is near to closing the deal,” a Dole aide told The New York Sun.The senator’s husband, Robert Dole, the former Senate majority leader and Republican nominee for vice president and president, is a popular figure in the chamber and has been making calls on her behalf. Mr. Coleman’s chief of staff, Erich Mische, disputed the claims that Mrs. Dole enjoys a lead and insisted that many more than half-a-dozen senators are supporting his boss.Leading the committee has historically been a launching pad into party and national leadership. Mrs. Dole is believed to have her sights set on competing in two years’ time for the job of Senate majority leader, a post likely to be vacated in 2006 by William Frist of Tennessee, who is planning to run for the presidency.Former chairmen of the National Republican Senatorial Committee include Mr. First and Senator McConnell of Kentucky, who is now the majority whip. The job was held this year by Senator Allen of Virginia.Mrs. Dole won election to the Senate in 2000. Previously she led the American Red Cross, was a presidential candidate in 2000, and served as transportation secretary in the Reagan administration and as labor secretary for the first President Bush.Her supporters say she is ideal to head the National Republican Senatorial Committee, having star appeal and a track record of fund-raising at the Red Cross. Her colleagues who are supporting Mrs. Dole range from moderates such as Senator Chafee of Rhode Island to conservatives such as Senator Allard of Colorado.Mr. Coleman, who has the backing of Mr. Frist’s predecessor as majority leader, Senator Lott of Mississippi, argues that he is best suited for the job, hailing as he does from the Midwest, a region that is likely to have the largest number of competitive Senate races in 2006.The Dole letter circulated to senators argues that the North Carolinian enjoys great name recognition and is well known among news outlets “from her many years of service to the nation and the Republican Party.” It continues: “That is a crucial element in fundraising, whether trying to speak with a Fortune 500 CEO, organizing a series of fund-raising events across the country, or communicating with grass-roots donors through direct mail.”In the words of the editor of a respected, eponymous political report, Stuart Rothenberg, Mrs. Dole is “about as close to a rock star as the Republican Senate has.”“She’s a celebrity, and that can be a valuable asset for an NRSC chairman,” Mr. Rothenberg said, though he described the Brooklyn-born Mr. Coleman as better than she is at the nuts-and-bolts of campaigning.Meanwhile, conservative opposition to the elevation of Senator Specter of Pennsylvania as chairman of the Judiciary Committee has intensified – to the anxiety of GOP leaders in the Senate, who had expected criticism to die down. Mr. Specter’s post-election remarks on judicial confirmation, which some took to be a warning to President Bush not to send to the Senate nominees who oppose abortion rights, continued to draw outrage from social conservatives. Mr. Specter has sought to placate critics, insisting his comments were taken out of context.The telephones, fax machine trays, and e-mail inboxes of Senate GOP leaders have been jammed by protests from conservative activists demanding that Mr. Specter not be allowed to succeed Chairman Hatch of Utah, who has served the maximum permitted number of terms as leader of the Judiciary Committee. Two-dozen conservative groups are thought to be behind the uproar.Conservative leaders outside Congress have noted that Senate GOP leaders have not gone out of their way in the past two days to defend Mr. Specter, leading them to believe they might block his appointment.

Senator Dole Is Eyeing Leadership of Key Senate Committee, GOP Post

Senator Dole Is Eyeing Leadership of Key Senate Committee, GOP Post

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