Smith Ends White House Bid

Senator Bob Smith has officially ended his independent bid for the White House, reports CBS News Correspondent Bob Fuss and is expected within a week or so to return to the Republican party he so scorned just three months ago.

Smith spokeswoman Lisa Harrison said the conservative senator would announce Thursday that he was quitting the presidential race.

Congressional officials, who spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity, said Smith has made numerous overtures about returning to the Republican Party after barely 100 days as an independent. They said Smith's gestures include attendance at a party fund-raising dinner and conversations with senior Republicans.

These overtures began well before Sen. John Chafee's unexpected death Sunday, these officials say. But the process appears to be accelerating because the Rhode Island Republican's death created a vacancy at the head of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee — a chairmanship Smith is eager to have.

Earlier in the week, Smith told a reporter it was "not appropriate" to discuss political issues until after Chafee's funeral this weekend. However, he did not deny considering a return to the GOP, saying, "I'm just not going to say anything right now."

Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma is currently in line to ascend to the chairmanship, holding the greatest seniority among the panel's GOP members. But several sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Smith wants to retain his seniority rights if he returns to the GOP, which would allow him to take the chairmanship.

While Republicans have publicly maintained that the issue won't be addressed until after Chafee's funeral, sources said Smith and Inhofe participated in a discussion of the chairmanship issue at a closed-door meeting of several conservative Republican senators.

Smith, who had been seeking the GOP presidential nomination, quit the party in July with a blast at the party.

Smith said then that he would seek the presidential nomination of a third party. But shortly thereafter, his wife became ill. His presidential campaign has been invisible for months.

In recent weeks, though, Republican officials have said Smith has talked with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and other senior GOP lawmakers about a return to the Republican Party. He also has spoken with Jim Nicholson, the Republican National Committee chairman.

In addition, he attended GOP fund-raising events in his home state and Washington.