WASHINGTON - George W. Bush declared yesterday he would pick his presidential running mate after a final period of reflection at his Texas ranch this weekend, and the man who has been heading his search, former defense secretary Dick Cheney, emerged as a leading candidate for the job.
Cheney switched his voter registration from Texas, where he has been living, to Wyoming, where he was schooled and served six terms as a congressman.
Switching registration would avoid conflict with the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the Electoral College from voting for a president and vice president who are inhabitants of the same state.
Yesterday was the last day before Cheney could make the switch, if Bush, the governor of Texas, keeps to his schedule of announcing his selection by Monday.
''The days of speculation are over,'' Bush told reporters before retreating to his 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford, Texas.
Referring to Cheney, a Bush associate said later, ''He is a leading candidate.'' Asked to elaborate, the associate added, ''It makes sense, with safety being the No. 1 ingredient.''
Another Republican official confirmed that Cheney is a leading contender.
Besides Cheney, recent speculation has centered on Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, Senators Fred Thompson and Bill Frist of Tennessee, Representative John Kasich of Ohio, Governors George Pataki of New York and Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, as well as former Cabinet member Elizabeth Dole.
In recent days, there also was renewed talk about Arizona Senator John McCain, who had been Bush's chief rival for the Republican nomination.
The focus on Cheney was surprising in that it came after strong denials in the past about his interest in serving with Bush.
In May, Cheney, who heads Halliburton Co., a Houston-based oil and engineering conglomerate, said he would not become part of Bush's administration if the Texas governor were elected president.
''I made a long-term commitment to the company and I have absolutely no desire to go back to government,'' he said in a newspaper interview.
Since April, however, Bush and Cheney have been in daily contact, and Bush has said repeatedly that he trusts Cheney's judgment.
In addition to serving in the business world, he served as chief of staff to President Ford.
One possible challenge for Cheney is his health. The 59-year-old suffered three mild heart attacks before age 48, and he has undergone coronary bypass surgery.
The talk about Cheney comes as Bush tries to orchestrate media coverage of his campaign over the next few weeks.
This weekend has been blocked out for a final decision about a running mate. Bush spokesman Ray Sullivan said yesterday: ''The process is still working. The governor has not made up his mind but may be prepared to make an announcement next week as early as Monday.''
When the announcement comes, it will trigger a run of high-profile campaigning by the Republican presidential ticket.
Bush is planning to take his running mate on a five-day trip from Texas to Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and, finally, Pennsylvania - arriving in Philadelphia on Aug. 2 amid the convention excitement.
Yesterday, Cheney became the focus just a day after rewened speculation about McCain.
During a conversation earlier this week with Ridge, the Pennsylvania governor, McCain reportedly said he didn't want to be vice president, yet if asked, ''I would serve.''
In May, McCain told Bush at a reconciliation meeting in Pittsburgh that he did not want to be considered for vice president. Bush declared he would honor McCain's wishes.
Bush worked carefully in the spring to get McCain, who won seven primaries, to publicly rule out an interest in the vice presidency. The governor has said repeatedly that he wants a running mate who is loyal to his cause. Bush feared that openly rejecting McCain, with whom he clashed over campaign finance and Social Security reform during the primary campaign, would anger the senator's legion of reform-minded supporters.
In recent days, however, there has been a movement to draft the senator, with 60 Republican members of the House signing a letter urging Bush to consider McCain. Copies were delivered to Cheney and Karl Rover, Bush's chief political strategist.
The letter said the only thing Bush's current rival, Democrat Al Gore, has to fear ''is George W. Bush calling John McCain,'' according to a Republican official who had the wording read to him.
During his meeting with reporters at his ranch, Bush was asked specifically about McCain.
''He'll be a loyal soldier for my campaign,'' the governor said. ''He is a man of duty and he loves his country.''
Bush only smiled when asked what rank McCain might hold.
The Bush team does have precedent for concern about McCain's sticking the the script.
During a working vacation in Kennebunkport, Maine, in early June, Bush and his staff met to flesh out a convention plan and a tentative list of speakers.
Andrew Card, the former Massachusetts state representative and onetime US transportation secretary who is heading Bush's convention planning, returned the next morning to Washington, where he received a call from McCain's staff asking for an immediate meeting. Card had been planning to meet with the senator the following week.
Card cleared the impromptu visit with Bush headquarters, yet no sooner had he walked out of McCain's Capitol Hill office than the news wires began reporting that McCain was slotted for a prime-time speaking role, along with former Joint Chiefs chairman Colin Powell.
Karen Hughes, Bush's communications chief, was befuddled when reporters traveling with the governor in Maine confronted her with the McCain news.
An array of speakers, including Powell and Bush's wife, Laura, had yet to be told, Hughes said with exasperation.
Material from Jill Zuckman of the Globe Staff and The Associated Press was used in this report.
