Washington – A day after Senate Democrats chose their new leaders in an uncontested election, Republicans select their own leaders today, with a spirited competition for the No. 2 spot in the GOP hierarchy.
The Republicans, relegated to minority status in the new Congress that convenes in January, will choose Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as their counter to the incoming majority leader, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. But the minority whip job is a contest between Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and the former Republican leader of the Senate, Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi.
Lott’s comeback bid, four years after he was pressured into stepping down as Senate majority leader for praising onetime segregationist hero Strom Thurmond, could be aided by the fact that the Republican leadership election is by secret ballot.
Alexander, who has been angling for the position for months, claims to have at least 25 votes supporting his candidacy for Republican whip, the leader responsible for gathering Republican votes on legislation. But some could secretly switch their support to Lott, who joined the race only this week.
“He might well be helped by the secret ballot,” said Peter Brown, a longtime political analyst and assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
Even so, if Lott’s comeback is successful, it will revive “stories … that include the remarks that forced him to resign his leadership post to begin with,” said Brown.
That is something Republicans stinging from last week’s election defeat might not be receptive to, he added.
Lott, a veteran of 34 years in Congress, has a reputation as partisan and combative, with a knowledge of Capitol Hill tactics surpassed only by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. He was the first legislator to serve as whip in both houses of Congress. But Lott is also personable and gregarious and, under the right circumstances, he is willing to work a deal even with Democrats.
Earlier Tuesday, President Bush named Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., a close White House ally and a Cuban-American, general chairman of the Republican National Committee. The appointment comes in the wake of an election that yielded shrinking GOP support from Latino voters.
McClatchy Newspapers contributed to ths report.
