Dunn Rival Backer For House Post Fellow Conservative Smith May Have An Ulterior Motive

Rep. Linda Smith says her backing of fellow Republican Jennifer Dunn for a House leadership post is sincere support for a committed party member, not a bid to keep the potential rival out of a GOP Senate primary.

Smith, a Christian conservative who wants to challenge Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Friday that differences between herself and Dunn have been exaggerated in news media.

And in somewhat of a backhanded compliment, Smith said in an interview that their contrasting strengths and styles have been good for the party.

“We are from different parts of the party,” said Smith, a grass roots organizer who has taken a lead role in urging reform of campaign finance laws and sworn off any contributions from political action committees.

“We are different, but in a way we’ve been compatible. She raises money. She’s a good fund-raiser. Bellevue is the money capital of our state. I’ve been in the streets building the grass roots and running initiative efforts,” she said.

Dunn, the dean of Washington’s GOP House delegation and former chairwoman of the state party who hails from Bellevue, says she’ll forgo a primary for Murray’s seat next year if she is elected next month as vice chair of the House Republican Conference, the sixth-ranking GOP leader.

A close ally of House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., Dunn currently is in the No. 7 leadership slot as conference secretary and is expected to win the promotion.

Washington’s other four House Republicans - including potential Senate primary contenders Reps. George Nethercutt and Rick White - signed a letter to colleagues last week urging support for Dunn.

Dunn helped run Ronald Reagan’s campaigns in Washington in 1976 and 1980, becoming the first woman chair of the state GOP in 1981, they noted.

“She is a true Reaganite who even named her second child after then-Governor Reagan,” they wrote.

Smith didn’t sign that June 11 letter but sent her own to Dunn the same day, calling her “a committed member of the Republican Party.”

“I know that you are wholeheartedly dedicated to building on the Republican majority in Congress that is so vital to returning to the values that keep America strong,” she wrote.

Washington state Democrats - who delight in the rifts between GOP regulars and right-wing reformers - said in their weekly newsletter they “couldn’t help but be amused” by Smith’s endorsement of Dunn.

Smith acknowledged in the interview that she and Dunn were at odds when Smith urged Gingrich to step aside as speaker during a recent ethics probe.

“She defended the speaker real strong. I couldn’t follow her lead on that. But internally, a lot of people differed on that,” Smith said.

Dunn was in a leadership meeting Friday and could not be reached for comment.