March 24, 2006

Sessions Recruits Ex-Dallas GOP Chairman
for Help in Bid to Lead National Committee

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions has enlisted former Dallas County GOP Chairman Nate Crain for help in his bid for National Republican Congressional Committee chairman in a race that he appears to be leading despite defying the party establishment in a primary battle for a U.S. House seat in Central Texas.

Sessions said that Crain would assume a leadership role in the NRCC chairman's campaign on a national level without elaborating on what exactly he would be doing to boost the Texas congressman's effort. Crain's ties to Governor Rick Perry and the vast connections he's developed in GOP politics on the national, state and local levels could presumably help Sessions repair any relations that might have been strained when he sided with former staff member Tucker Anderson of Waco in a congressional contest that took a negative turn before Van Taylor won the Republican nomination with the support of Perry, the NRCC and other party leaders. GOP leaders saw Taylor, an Iraq war veteran, as their best hope against Democratic U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards in a district that has a substantial Republican majority and President George W. Bush as a registered voter.

Sessions - one of three congressional members who've been campaigning for the NRCC's top job - was in a position to take a gamble on Anderson after helping U.S. Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio come from behind to win the majority leader's post in early February. The Washington Post rated Sessions as one of the four biggest winners among U.S. House Republicans in addition to Boehner as a result of his dark horse win in the fight for the job that U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay had to give up after being indicted last year. Sessions' role in the fight for majority leader appeared to be worth much more to his own leadership aspirations than the subsequent loss in Congressional District 17 might have cost him politically.

While Crain has been a major force in the Dallas GOP and a rising star on the state political scene, Session's choice of him for a key part in the NRCC race is interesting in light of a clash he had last year with U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign and recent criticism he's directed at the state GOP on the subject of party finances. Crain angered Hutchison supporters when he urged county party leaders around the state to put the pressure on the senator to run for re-election instead of challenging Perry. Crain expressed his support for her as soon as she did drop the idea of running for governor.

During the past few months Crain's name has been mentioned as a possible candidate for state GOP chair while he's raised questions about the party's fiscal affairs. But Sessions' announcement appeared to close the door on a state chair campaign for Crain in the near future. "Nate has long been a valued supporters- and I'm pleased he will now devote himself full time to this important effort," Sessions said.

A major fundraiser for Perry and Bush, Crain is the president of an online marketing company. He's been active in the national GOP's top donor program known as the Republican Eagles - and he's a founding member of the Maverick PAC of Texas. Crain's wife, Christina Melton Crain, is an attorney who Perry picked to be the chair of the Texas Board of Criminal Justice.

Crain's decision to help Sessions in the NRCC race appears to leave Waco lawyer Gina Parker as the only possible obstacle at this point in time to Republican State Chairwoman Tina Benkiser's bid for another two-year term. The state chair will be elected by delegates to the Texas Republican Convention in San Antonio in June while a new NRCC chair will be chosen after this year's election when U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds of New York steps down after two terms. U.S. Reps. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and Phil English of Pennsylvania are also competing for the NRCC leadership post.

The NRCC chair ranks fifth in the GOP leadership hierarchy in Congress. Former Dallas area congressional member Martin Frost, who Sessions ousted in 2004 after the two were paired in redistricting, enjoyed immense power as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and used the DCCC post as a stepping stone to the top job on the House Democratic Caucus.