Bush Not Lending a Hand in Battle for Congress, Some Say

On Monday morning, Sen. John McCain announced grand plans for a late-August bus tour to campaign for Republican congressional candidates. By lunchtime, the Republican National Convention’s opening program was showcasing the party’s top House and Senate contenders. And throughout this week, party elders will be linking up congressional aspirants with potential donors.

All of which raises a question with potentially significant impact on November’s election results: How active a role will George W. Bush play in the fight to keep the GOP majority in Congress? The stakes for Bush are huge: If he wins the presidency, continued GOP control of the House and Senate likely would be key to the success of his young administration.

That said, just exactly what Bush can or should do in the fight to keep congressional Republicans in power is a delicate calculation for him.

Effort Rankles Some Republicans

To the extent his strategy for winning the White House includes keeping his distance from his party’s congressional wing, he risks undercutting that message if he ties himself too closely to House and Senate candidates.

Many of those contenders hope that a strong showing by Bush will create coattails for them to ride to victory. But some Republicans clearly are rankled that Bush has done much less than his Democratic rival, Al Gore, to raise money and campaign for congressional candidates.

“There is some frustration, to be frank,” said Rep. David L. Hobson (R-Ohio). We need George W. out there raising more for our candidates. McCain is doing some, but we need the Big Kahuna out there.”

Meeting Planned to Address Issue

Help may be on the way. A meeting is planned for next week between top Bush officials and congressional campaign strategists to identify key districts for him to visit, as well as find other ways to coordinate their political efforts.

“He wants a Republican Congress and we want to make sure he gets one,” said Jim Wilkinson, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “He’s definitely going to go to some of these targeted districts. But as busy as the governor is, we have to be realistic in our requests.”

The Bush campaign Monday continued to play its cards close to the vest. Spokesman Ari Fleischer said the Texas governor is likely to campaign in selected races, but he added that it is “too soon to say for sure” what his schedule will be.

“We still have to win our own race,” Fleischer said.

McCain, by contrast, periodically has been barnstorming the country for GOP congressional candidates since his bid for the GOP presidential nomination ended in March. The Arizona senator announced Monday that he and Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. (R-Okla.) would press the case for selected candidates during a bus tour through three Northeastern states at the end of this month.

And McCain said that during the fall, they would swing through California, where the GOP faces tough fights to reelect Reps. James E. Rogan of Glendale, Steven T. Kuykendall of Rancho Palos Verdes and Brian P. Bilbray of San Diego, and to hold the San Jose seat Rep. Tom Campbell gave up to run for the Senate.

The fight for control of the House is especially intense. Republicans now hold a majority of 223 to 210 (two lawmakers are independents), meaning Democrats have to pick up only seven seats to gain control.

Republicans control the Senate, 54 to 46, and Democrats believe their chances of reclaiming the majority--though still lower than those in the House--are improving.

So far, Bush’s edge over Gore in the polls is not reflected when voters are asked about their generic congressional preferences. A Times poll conducted late last week found that 46% of those surveyed said they would prefer to see a Democrat elected to the House from their district, while 40% favored a Republican. By contrast, the same poll found Bush leading Gore, 44% to 39%.

An Attempt at Inclusiveness

Some Republican strategists say Bush’s best course for helping the party retain control of Congress is to continue what he’s been trying to do in his presidential campaign: Remake the GOP’s image to be more inclusive and less partisan than the image created by such congressional Republican leaders as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia.

Bush’s “ability to define the agenda in a more positive way gives Republicans in Congress an opportunity,” said David Winston, a GOP pollster. “It’s up to Republicans in Congress to take the opportunity and drive it home.”

But House Republicans are looking for more concrete aid in the form of Bush appearances in swing districts and fund-raising. Some fume as they note that President Clinton has headlined 14 fund-raisers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee while Gore has appeared at three, and that they have raised a combined $14 million.

California Races in the Balance

Bush has yet to headline a fund-raiser for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

California, which polls show Gore would win with relative ease as of now, crystallizes Bush’s quandary. If he decides not to invest heavily in a state that he will have a hard time winning, it could put the four key Republican House seats at risk.

But Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) said he expects Bush to heighten his efforts on behalf of the GOP congressional cause in California. “He wants to have, for the first time [since 1954], a Republican Congress and a Republican president,” Dreier said. “He’s not going to hesitate to be seen with and campaign on behalf of congressional candidates.”