Hagel Bids For Key GOP Post

In the first open challenge to Senate Republican leaders, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel announced on Tuesday that he will run for the key fund-raising position of chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Hagel seeks to unseat Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Dec. 1, when Senate Republicans choose their leaders for the new Congress.

If selected, Hagel said his focus would be on the re-election of Senate Republicans to the 19 seats they will have at stake in 2000. He also advocates doing away with negative campaign ads.

"I think one of the things that Republicans learned in 1998 is that you can't just win by beating up on your opponent and giving the American public no positive alternative," Hagel said.

After the Nov. 3 elections, the Senate breakdown was unchanged at 55 Republicans and 45 Democrats, disappointing Republicans, who had hoped to expand their majority. In the House, Republicans lost five seats.

The election results prompted a shake-up in the House Republican hierarchy, including Speaker Newt Gingrich stepping down. Senate Republicans did not have the same public outcry by rank-and-file members for change at the top.

Hagel said his candidacy offered an alternative and he believed he had a good shot at winning. "If I didn't believe I could win, I wouldn't be here," he said.

In reaction to Hagel's announcement, a spokesman for McConnell's camp said: "We feel confident about our vote count and we're sensing a lot of unease about the idea of turning this committee over to a two-year freshman in a cycle when our majority is on the line."

Hagel was first elected to Congress in 1996.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi expressed a similar sentiment: "Given the challenges of the coming election cycle, it is critical that we elect a chairman of the senatorial committee with the seasoned experience and proven skills to lead us to victory."