Tennessee senator willing to replace Lott

WASHINGTON -- Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist stepped forward Thursday as a potential replacement for Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, delivering a blow to the Mississippian's already precarious hold on his post.

In a statement, Frist said several senators had approached him Thursday and asked him to seek the job. He said he agreed to let them gauge support from all 51 GOP senators who will serve in the Congress that convenes next month.

"I indicated to them that if it is clear that a majority of the Republican caucus believes a change in leadership would benefit the institution of the United States Senate, I will likely step forward for that role," Frist said.

Lott, 61, has said he believes he has enough support from his colleagues to retain his job. The Mississippian has been under fire since Dec. 5, when he expressed regret that segregationist presidential candidate Strom Thurmond was defeated in 1948. Lott has apologized.

Lott's office declined to comment on Frist. But a GOP leadership aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lott still enjoys large support and should not be underestimated.

The White House declined to comment on Frist's moves. Following President Bush's criticism last week of Lott's Dec. 5 remarks, administration officials have sought to distance themselves from the leadership struggle.

"The White House does not get involved if there are any leadership races," said Bush spokesman Scott McClellan.

Lott, who has led Senate Republicans since 1996, was home in Mississippi telephoning colleagues in search of support.

Frist, 50 and in his second Senate term, had spent the last several days making noncommittal statements about Lott.

But earlier Thursday, GOP aides speaking on condition of anonymity said Frist was sounding out senators by telephone and was considering making the race. GOP senators plan to meet Jan. 6 to decide who will lead them in the new Congress, which convenes the next day.

"Bill didn't tell me he was in this thing yet," said one senator who recently has spoken to Frist. "He's explaining what's out there, and I'm glad he is. We need to have an internal discussion among our colleagues about our options," the senator said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In a sign that Frist might be building momentum, a Republican aide close to No. 2 Senate Republican Don Nickles of Oklahoma said Nickles would likely support a race by Frist.

Nickles, a longtime rival of Lott, R-Miss., believes he would have less support from colleagues than Frist for majority leader, a Republican aide said.

Other Senate sources said there is heightened interest among GOP senators to find a resolution because Lott is refusing to give up his leader's seat.

Frist, a wealthy heart surgeon before coming to Congress in 1995, helped engineer the GOP takeover of the Senate in last month's elections.

He was among those Bush considered as a running mate in his 2000 presidential campaign, and has been a leading GOP voice on prescription drugs and other health care issues.

Until now, Republican lawmakers, aides and lobbyists have said Frist was reluctant to seek the job. Besides being a political lightning rod for attacks by Democrats, the post would be extremely time-consuming, taking away from his pursuit of health issues and, perhaps, preparations for a White House run in 2008.

Aides said it remained unclear whether Frist could win enough support to supplant Lott should it come to a vote.

Leadership elections, conducted by secret ballot, are notoriously unpredictable affairs in which promised votes fail to materialize and lawmakers' decisions are based on personal relationships, past conflicts and any number of unpredictable factors.

Also mentioned as possible candidates to replace Lott are GOP Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania. Both are currently Lott supporters.

The senator who has spoken to Frist cautioned, however, that Frist's candidacy could be hurt by a perception that he may be too close to the White House.

"They don't want a senator who's a yes-man for the president and Rove over here," said the senator, referring to top White House political adviser Karl Rove.

Amid the maneuvering, more of Lott's colleagues expressed an openness to replacing him.

Asked by a reporter in Richmond where the votes were, Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said, "Trent has said he has 26 votes that are committed to him. I am not one of those who was counted in the 26."

The Mississippian's "ability as a leader dissipates on a daily basis," said Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., in one of the sharpest barbs a Republican has aimed at Lott.

Inhofe, one of the Senate's most conservative members, said he believed Lott had a 30 percent chance of being majority leader when the new Congress convenes next month, but predicted Lott would not step aside. He also criticized Lott's apology for voting against a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., saying it was a responsible conservative position.

Other GOP senators leaving the door open for replacing Lott included Sens. Craig Thomas of Wyoming, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, Sam Brownback of Kansas, and Maine's two moderate Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., said he would support Lott in January because retaining him as leader would hold the GOP's "feet to the fire" on the issue of race.

"If he resigns, this whole issue goes away and we sweep it under the rug again. Instead, we can use this as a time for healing," Ensign said in an interview with Las Vegas radio station KCEP.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: AP Special Correspondent David Espo contributed to this report.