| CIR_DREAM2009 |
01-30-2009 07:38 PM |
Re: 60 senators still possible
Politico: GOP Fights to keep Gregg in the Senate
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Republicans in Washington and New Hampshire are mounting a full-court press to keep Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) in the Senate and out of the Obama administration, aides and senators said Friday.
But if he does take the commerce secretary job, they want a commitment that New Hampshire’s Democratic governor will appoint a Republican senator so the party holds at least 41 seats, the minimum needed to sustain filibusters. No such commitments have been made, even as Granite State Republican sources tell Politico they are worried Gregg will take the Cabinet job if offered it by Obama.
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[NH Gov.] Lynch spokesman Colin Manning stayed out of it: “This is between the White House and Sen. Gregg and I am going to have to refer questions to them.”
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Friends tell Politico they expect Gregg to accept the seat if it’s offered, even though Gregg has only confirmed he is under consideration and would not comment further. Gregg has to run for reelection next year and could lose in his increasingly Democratic state.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday that Obama told him “a final decision had not been made. . .until the president asks me to make a personnel announcement from this podium, I’ll refrain from getting into any names.”
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The job offers some obvious attractions. Gregg, 61, would have to spend heavily in 2010 to keep his seat and would be a top GOP target. And instead of being a part of a slimmer GOP minority, he would command a major department that would have a big role in responding to the deepening economic recession.
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Earlier Thursday, several well-connected New Hampshire Republicans said they were skeptical that Gregg would accept.
These sources noted that Gregg has fundraisers lined up as far into the calendar as April. But they also acknowledged that Gregg has spoken positively about Obama.
“Judd Gregg not running for reelection makes it extremely interesting,” Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic chairwoman, said with evident glee in her voice.
Senate Republicans are, to state the obvious, far less joyful.
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