Ensign to Lead NRSC
Roll Call Staff
Sen. John Ensign will take the helm of the National Republican Senatorial Committee at the start of the 110th Congress, putting the Nevada Republican on the front line of what is certain to be a difficult election cycle for the GOP.
Republican leaders have been scrambling for nearly two months to recruit the next NRSC chairman after Sen. John Thune (S.D.), who was expected to assume the post, opted against a bid. Thune shocked the GOP Conference in early August when he announced he wasn’t interested in the position, citing the travel burden and family commitments.
Ensign, who also declined the NRSC post when initially approached by party leaders, said he changed his mind after consulting with friends, colleagues, and his wife, Darlene.
“It’s a big challenge, there’s no question, it’s a big challenge, but it’s an important job,” Ensign said in an interview Tuesday. “I think it’s a job that I’m up to. I feel very privileged to even serve in a position like that.”
Ensign added: “Nobody likes asking for money, that’s the reason that a lot of people don’t want to do it. I think it’s an important job, and you have to raise the resources to get your folks elected.”
The 48-year-old Ensign, who was first elected to the Senate in 2000 after two terms in the House, openly acknowledged the hurdles he will face as NRSC chairman next cycle.
Twenty-one Republican Senators are up for re-election in 2008, versus just 12 Democrats. When combined with the certain competition for donor dollars from a presidential campaign and a renewed battle for the House, the NRSC’s ability to raise money and elect its candidates will be tested severely.
“I know I’m up against it,” Ensign said. “It’s a tough cycle. Twenty-one [GOP Senators] up. I realize that. I realize all the negative parts about it, and that makes it all the more exciting to me because it makes it that much more difficult.”
The Nevada Republican offered praise for Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), the current chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Schumer, who has been able to pull the Democrats into financial parity with the NRSC after years of trailing in the money race, is believed in some quarters to be prepared to return to the DSCC for another cycle, although no formal decision has been announced yet.
“Chuck Schumer is a very worthy opponent,” Ensign said.
Ensign said his original decision not to accept the NRSC position was based more on the fact that it would keep him away from his family when the Senate was out of session, rather than any lack of desire to serve in the GOP leadership.
“I wasn’t interested because of personal considerations, not because I didn’t want the job,” Ensign said. I always wanted to do the job.”
The Nevada Republican said he talked with several former NRSC chairmen about the demands of the job and was reassured that he could tailor it to fit his own personal style.
“Some chairman traveled very little, some traveled a lot,” said Ensign, who has three children. Ensign said he and his wife “spent the last couple weeks exploring it, what’s entailed, and I laid it all out for her. She’s very enthusiastic in her support and that was very critical for me.”
Several people close to Ensign, whom he would not identify, also told him to accept the post.
“It was personal friends of mine who told me to reconsider,” he said. Ensign then held further discussions with some of his Senate colleagues, and by last weekend, had decided to inform party leaders that he would accept the job.
Ensign met with Majority Whip Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the presumptive Senate Republican leader in the next Congress, on Tuesday. The two huddled for about 30 minutes, during which Ensign “laid out his plan for 2008 and the role of the NRSC chair,” said Don Stewart, McConnell’s spokesman.
“I have discussed this with Sen. McConnell,” Ensign admitted, although he would not go into further detail, including any discussions he may have had with retiring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
While McConnell has declined to endorse anyone for a leadership position heading into 2007, and the GOP Conference still must formally approve Ensign as the NRSC chairman, no other Republicans have thrown their hat in the ring, making it Ensign’s by default. Senators who are “in cycle” are ineligible for the post, eliminating a huge chunk of the conference from consideration.
“This is an outstanding choice,” said Brian Nick, spokesman for Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), current chairwoman of the NRSC. “Sen. Ensign is already a star in the Republican Conference. And his willingness to step up to the plate to tackle this incredibly challenging endeavor will be a huge benefit to Republicans.”
Ensign’s decision to seek the NRSC post leaves the vice chairman position open to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the only other candidate for that job, at least for the time being.
Many in the Republican Conference viewed Cornyn as the frontrunner for the position, a sentiment which could have tipped Ensign’s decision to vie for the NRSC slot.
But in itself, the NRSC chairmanship can be a stepping stone to elected leadership. Both Frist and McConnell served stints as NRSC chairman, and Ensign’s decision to accept what is sure to be a tough role in a difficult election cycle may earn him support within the Conference.
Ensign, a 1981 graduate of Oregon State, was a veterinarian before first coming to Congress in 1994. A born-again Christian, Ensign narrowly lost a bitter 1998 Senate race to now Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), falling by just 428 votes following a statewide recount.
In February 1999, former Sen. Dick Bryan (D-Nev.), announced that he would not seek re-election in 2000. Ensign immediately jumped into the race, and won a solid 10 point victory over Democratic lawyer Ed Bernstein.
Ensign is facing Jack Carter, son of former President Jimmy Carter, this November. Recent polls. A recent poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal showed Ensign holding a 23-point lead over Carter.
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