McCain to look for potential N.H. backers

By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff, January 28, 1999

WASHINGTON -- Senator John McCain, the Arizona Republican, is all but certain to run for president, and he plans to convey that message in private meetings with potential supporters in New Hampshire on Saturday, according to a source close to the senator.

McCain, in an interview yesterday, would not go quite so far, but said he is "very far along in the process" and expects to make an announcement soon.

A former Vietnam prisoner of war and Naval Academy graduate, McCain established a presidential exploratory committee on Dec. 30. But so far, McCain has not held any fund-raisers or any major campaign-style events. His trip to New Hampshire is viewed by advisers as the "soft opening" of the campaign, with little advance publicity.

McCain will be escorted by his friend, former senator Warren Rudman, a New Hampshire Republican, who is slated to introduce McCain to possible supporters at private meetings.

McCain's move comes as the GOP presidential field is taking shape. Today, former vice president Dan Quayle plans to formally file papers with the Federal Election Commission that will establish his candidacy. Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire filed his candidacy papers earlier this month. Others moving closer to finalizing their plans, including Elizabeth Dole, Texas Governor George W. Bush, former education secretary Lamar Alexander, publisher Steve Forbes, and former Reagan aide Gary Bauer.

With the New Hampshire primary less than 13 months away, and activists beginning to choose favorites, potential candidates have been stepping up their effort to let people know they are running. Some expected candidates, such as Alexander and Forbes, have been campaigning practically since they lost the 1996 primary. Bush, Dole, and Bauer have plenty of connections through their political and ideological networks.

McCain, meanwhile, is searching for what might be called the maverick constituency, voters who would be attracted by his independence and his bipartisan work for campaign finance legislation and tobacco regulation. McCain aides said New Hampshire, with its libertarian and independent streaks, is the ideal territory for finding such support.

Ken Duberstein, a former chief of staff to President Reagan and an informal adviser to McCain, said he thought the senator's willingness "to take on sacred cows and show his independence . . . is quite attractive."

Each candidate must raise between $20 million to $35 million this year in order to run a credible campaign next year, according to political analysts. Only two or three candidates are expected to be able to raise enough.