Californian Lewis Front-Runner to Fill Cheney’s House GOP Post

Rep. Dick Cheney’s nomination to be defense secretary set off a scramble Friday among Republicans for the key House leadership position that the Wyoming Republican will have to vacate, with the early front-runner appearing to be Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), GOP observers said.

A successful bid by Lewis to be minority whip--the House GOP’s second-ranking post--would strengthen California’s influence in Congress. Another Californian, Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced), is the No. 2 man in the Democratic leadership.

The whip position in both parties coordinates the flow of legislation through the House and lines up votes among party members on crucial issues. It requires skills in working with the other party on bipartisan matters.

Lewis, now the No. 3 man in the GOP House leadership, said Friday that he is “very seriously considering” seeking the job. He called Cheney’s departure a loss for the GOP and said it is “critical for House Republicans to have an effective whip system for counting votes, to ensure that George Bush’s agenda successfully makes it through Congress.”

In a prepared statement, Lewis indicated that he would ask Rep. Robert H. Michel (R-Ill.), the minority leader, to convene meetings next week to elect Cheney’s successor.

First elected in 1978, Lewis has gained a reputation as a politically shrewd conservative who knows how to work with liberal Democrats.

But his ascension to the No. 2 job is by no means certain. Rep. Newt Gingrich, a fiery conservative from Georgia who led calls for an investigation of House Speaker Jim Wright (D-Tex.), announced Friday that he will seek the post. House GOP observers do not take his candidacy lightly.

“I’m running to win, to help establish a Republican majority in the House as early as 1992,” Gingrich said. “Republicans have suffered a major loss with the departure of Cheney and the departure before that of Trent Lott (the former No. 2 man in the GOP leadership who was recently elected as a senator from Mississippi).”

Other lawmakers reported to be considering a run for Cheney’s post include Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.) and Rep. Lynn Martin (R-Ill.).

A race between Lewis and Gingrich could turn bitter, said a House aide, because many “movement conservatives” in the House, including some California lawmakers, prefer Gingrich’s confrontational style over Lewis’ more congenial approach to dealing with Democrats.

“Jerry Lewis might have the inside track now, but if Gingrich gathers steam, we’d drop Lewis like a hot potato. This job is too important,” the aide said.

Gingrich got a key boost Friday when Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.), a leading House moderate, endorsed his candidacy. Gunderson said he has great respect for Lewis but declared that Gingrich would be more attentive to the “public relations needs, the broad themes important to government” for House Republicans.