GOP raises possibility of early swearing-in

WASHINGTON -- Republicans are saying they could regain control of the Senate before 2003, if Jim Talent unseats Democratic Sen. Jean Carnahan.

A GOP senator raised the idea this week, saying that if Talent defeats Mrs. Carnahan, he will push for an immediate swearing-in. That would give Republicans an edge if they meet for a lame-duck session following the Nov. 5 election.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, told the publication Congressional Quarterly this week that such a move would return the party split in the Senate to 50-50, handing Republicans the majority, because Vice President Dick Cheney casts tie-breaking votes.

Both of the national political parties place a high priority on the race between Mrs. Carnahan and Talent, a former congressman who narrowly lost the 2000 race for governor.

Republicans have been circulating Craig's comments, although Talent's campaign released a statement Wednesday saying he is not looking at or concerned about the possibility.

A spokesman for Craig did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

The story riled Democrats, who called the idea presumptuous.

"Everybody can speculate and talk as much as they want, but at the end of the day, Jean Carnahan is going back to the U.S. Senate," said Mike Kelley, executive director of the Missouri Democratic Party.

At issue is how Mrs. Carnahan came to serve in the Senate.

Appointed to fill vacancy

Her late husband, Gov. Mel Carnahan, died in a plane crash in 2000 while campaigning against former GOP Sen. John Ashcroft. Voters chose Carnahan anyway, and then-Gov. Roger Wilson appointed Mrs. Carnahan to fill the vacancy until the next general election.

Under state law, the governor appoints a person to fill a senate vacancy "until a successor shall have been duly elected and qualified according to law."

"What that means is that after the secretary of state certifies the election, that person is then eligible to be sworn in, take the oath and so forth," said Terry Jarrett, general counsel for Missouri's top election official, Republican Secretary of State Matt Blunt.

Jarrett pointed out that federal law provides for the governor, in this case Democratic Gov. Bob Holden, and the secretary of state to certify the election to the president of the U.S. Senate.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., took office in similar fashion soon after winning a special election in 1992, Jarrett pointed out.

Holden spokeswoman Mary Still called the possibility hypothetical.