Smith Senate Bid Unlikely
WASHINGTON – Former U.S. Sen. Bob Smith, who lost his seat to fellow New Hampshire Republican John Sununu last fall, has not been actively raising money for a bid to return to the Senate, according to federal campaign finance records.
The records seem to put an end to speculation that Smith, a controversial two-term senator, three-term House member and presidential candidate, would make a run at Sen. Judd Gregg’s seat next fall. Nevertheless, Smith declined to say Wednesday whether he would run.
“I’d rather not comment on that,” Smith said when reached by telephone in Florida, where he is currently selling pricey oceanfront real estate.
Smith seemed to be more certain earlier this year. Last January, Smith’s spokeswoman, Lisa Harrison, told The Union Leader that Smith laughed at the notion that he might take on Gregg in 2004.
While many consider a bid by Smith unlikely, his political past indicates that just about anything is possible. Smith ran as a Republican for president in 2000, but then abandoned his party and declared himself an independent after it became clear he would not get the GOP nomination.
Though Smith’s main campaign committee has received nearly $4 million in campaign contributions this year, it has only $2,733.93 in the bank, millions short of what it would take to mount a successful run against Gregg, a popular two-term incumbent. Gregg, a Republican, wields significant power as chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Smith spent $4.5 million when he lost the primary to then-House member Sununu last fall. Sununu spent $3.7 million.
Smith formed a second committee, the Smith Team Exploratory Committee, just weeks after his 2002 primary loss to “seriously explore a future run for the United States Senate in New Hampshire,” according a cover letter bearing his signature. Papers filed with the Federal Election Commission, which oversees campaign fundraising and expenditures, say Smith intends to run in 2008, when Sununu will face re-election.
Smith’s spokeswoman told The Union Leader in January that the exploratory committee was created solely to handle the money left over from his failed campaign, as the FEC requires. The committee was officially terminated in April.
Despite being technically defunct, the committee filed a report last week with the FEC to account for a $3,000 refund it received, according to an FEC spokesperson. That money immediately was shifted to Smith’s main committee, Bob Smith for U.S. Senate.
At least one long-time New Hampshire Republican, former state Attorney General Thomas Rath, said another Smith campaign was unlikely. Dan Allen, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said he saw no signs Smith would run.
“I see absolutely no indication” that he intends to run, said Rath, who helped run Gregg’s first campaign in 1992. “I would be very surprised if he did that,” Rath said. “He’s moved on to other things.”
