Huffington--and Bankroll--Gear Up

Michael Huffington’s demeanor is reserved, even poker-faced. But when a visitor raises the subject of money, the first-term congressman’s right eyebrow arches in a way that indicates that the topic may not be entirely welcome.

The matter tends to come up because it is the Santa Barbara Republican’s claim to fame: The wealthy Huffington last year doubled the previous House campaign record by spending a staggering $5.4 million--$5.2 million of it his own--to bolt from political obscurity to Congress.

“Mr. Moneybags Goes to Washington” proclaimed a national magazine headline. “Perot by the sea” is one Huffington sobriquet; “the $5-million man” is another. He is Exhibit A for campaign finance reform advocates railing against the buying of congressional seats.

A proponent of term limits--he gave $50,000 to last year’s California initiative campaign--Huffington looks like he’s trying to restrict himself to one term.

Eight months into a freshman session that has shown him that “the minority here doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to make a difference,” he is weighing a Senate bid in 1994, when the GOP hopes to win control of the chamber. Huffington, 45, is a man in a hurry.

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Huffington’s deep pockets--and willingness to dig into them--would make him the wild card in the GOP primary to choose an opponent for Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Still, taking on a formidable incumbent who has run twice statewide in recent years--a close run for governor in 1990 and a win for the Senate last year--is a daunting task.

“Psychologically, I’m prepared to do it,” Huffington said in a recent interview.

There is one caveat. Would you believe, money?

Huffington is willing to shell out millions to make himself a household name in California, much as he did in the 22nd District, where he sent nine-term Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) packing in June, 1992. But this time he doesn’t want to have to pay for those TV and radio ads, mailers and consultants all by himself.

“I have to have a commitment by others to work with me to raise the money,” Huffington said.

Several Republicans who have talked to him say he’s committed. One said the legislator would put up $10 million if he can raise another $10 million. Huffington says the race would cost at least $15 million. He said he’s interviewing political consultants, including Ed Rollins--who managed Ronald Reagan’s 1984 campaign and had a brief, ill-fated stint with Ross Perot last year.

The early Republican Senate field includes conservative Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) and former Rep. William Dannemeyer, an anti-gay champion. If both run, they could split the conservative vote and allow Huffington to target the GOP middle.

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Huffington’s father made a fortune in natural gas interests; the son’s wealth derives from a merchant bank he started and his share of the family’s gas, oil and real estate business.

Politically, he casts himself as a fiscal conservative who is pro-environment and liberal on social issues. This balancing act would position him well for a general election but could pose problems in the Republican primary, where conservatives are most vocal.

“I’m a different kind of Republican,” Huffington boasted at a Capitol Hill dinner last month where he was the only GOP legislator amid a sea of Democrats.

And he has shown that to be so. Breaking with the state’s Republicans, he voted to end the gag rule on abortion counseling, backs the Freedom of Choice Act and opposes parental consent. He voted for the family leave bill and supports lifting the ban on homosexuals in the military.

Huffington’s Greek-born wife, celebrated author Arianna Stassinopoulos, is completing a book that argues for a human instinct akin to altruism that transcends survival, money and power. Huffington says that articles by Stassinopoulos may even have influenced Hillary Rodham Clinton’s musings on “the politics of meaning.”

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But Huffington opposed President Clinton’s budget plan--particularly the tax increases and defense cuts--and has espoused sweeping congressional reform. Huffington hopes to use these issues to attack Feinstein as a professional politician who voted for an economic program he contends deals another blow to California.

He’s obviously emboldened by Perot’s experience as well as that of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, each of whom poured millions of his own money into political campaigns without arousing public backlash.

But Huffington runs the risk that he will undercut his outsider’s message by seeking higher office so soon after arriving in Congress. Moreover, he can expect his opponents to compare his meager record of accomplishment in public life with their own.

In the meantime, if he decides to seek entree into the millionaire-filled Senate club, he will have to grapple with this question: How much, after all, is the title senator worth?