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Martinez to be face of GOP

Early edition: The senator will be chairman but won’t handle the day-to-day work.

By ANITA KUMAR
Published November 13, 2006

WASHINGTON — Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, a former member of President Bush’s Cabinet and a sought-after fundraiser for his party, will become chairman of the Republican National Committee.

The nation’s first Cuban-American senator, Martinez will replace Ken Mehlman in January as the public face of the Republican Party, focusing on raising money and promoting the GOP agenda. He will remain in the Senate.

The affable Martinez, who has declined other party leadership roles in the past, was asked several times to consider the job, even before last week’s election. He turned down the requests until Bush personally asked him last week.

Martinez, 60, flew to Washington on Monday to meet with Bush today . A formal announcement will follow, but top Republicans were already buzzing about the appointment Monday night.

“I couldn’t be happier for Mel, for Florida and for America,” said Florida Gov.-elect Charlie Crist, who has been a potent political ally of Martinez for years. “He is a great man, he has integrity and a great heart. He understands people.”

Martinez will be counted on to woo Hispanic voters, a fast-growing group whose support for the Republican Party faltered in this election.

“Sen. Martinez is superbly qualified to lead our party at this challenging time,” said Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami. “Mel personifies the American Dream, as well as our party’s commitment to diversity.”

Martinez’s office referred calls to the RNC, where officials would say only that an announcement was coming in a matter of days.

While Martinez will assume the title of chairman, Mike Duncan, RNC general counsel and a former party treasurer, will run the day-to-day operations at the party’s Washington headquarters.

Together, their job will to be to help lead the RNC during Bush’s final two years in office and through the 2008 presidential election cycle as the Republicans try to take back Congress and keep the White House.

Martinez has campaigned several times with possible presidential contender Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Splitting the duties between two people is unusual but not unprecedented.

In the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan asked Nevada Sen. Paul Laxalt, his close friend, to be the party chairman while Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. ran the day-to-day operations. In the 1990s, President Bill Clinton asked Connecticut Sen. Christopher J. Dodd and longtime South Carolina political operative Don Fowler to do the same.

 “Mel would be good for the RNC and great for Florida,’’ said Al Austin, a top GOP fundraiser in Tampa. “He’s an enthusiastic and very personable guy who brings people together.”

A lawyer, Martinez narrowly defeated Democrat Betty Castor in 2004 after serving as U.S. secretary of housing and urban development and the chairman of Orange County.

Even as a junior senator, he often has the ear of the president and congressional leaders.

He was given top committee assignments, and he has been chosen to go on coveted trips, including a recent one to Afghanistan and Iraq with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. His colleagues look to him for leadership on issues such as immigration reform.

“He’ll do a fantastic job. That’s great news for Florida Republicans,’’ incoming Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio said. “In terms of helping influence the direction of the party, issues regarding Florida are going to be much more important when you have someone from Florida involved in setting the agenda.”

A reliable Republican member, Martinez helped Congress intervene in the Terri Schiavo case, led the effort to stop drilling off the Florida coast and wrote an immigration proposal that was favored by Bush and the Senate.

But he had a tough few months after news broke that his staff was responsible for an embarrassing memo explaining how Republicans could exploit the Schiavo case.

Later, some of his supporters complained that he had lost touch with the people who matter in Florida, saying his staff had neglected to return phone calls or schedule meetings. Even some of his Florida Republican colleagues said he didn’t do a good job of communicating with them.

In recent months, Martinez has embarked on an aggressive, mostly behind-the-scenes effort to campaign and raise money for fellow Republicans across the country.

He recently chaired a major fundraising dinner — the Senate Majority Celebration — that included a speech by Vice President Dick Cheney and garnered $4-million for the national committee that assists Republicans running for the Senate.

National Republican Senatorial Committee chairwoman Elizabeth Dole asked Martinez to chair the dinner — a job that required him to make sure senators met their fundraising goals — in part because of his ease in getting along with people.

Several senators asked Martinez to run to replace Dole next year, but he declined.

Mehlman announced he would step down after his two-year term following last week’s bruising midterm election in which Republicans lost both the House and Senate.

SEN. MEL MARTINEZ
BACKGROUND: Born in Cuba 60 years ago, arrived in America at 15.
EDUCATION: Bachelor’s and law degrees from Florida State University.
FAMILY: Married 36 years to Kitty; three children, two grandchildren.
CAREER: Lawyer, former Orange County chairman, former U.S. secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Elected to the Senate in 2004.
Source: Times files

Times staff writers Bill Adair, Joni James and Adam C. Smith and researcher Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Anita Kumar can be reached at akumar@sptimes.com or (202) 463-0576.

[Last modified November 13, 2006, 23:03:48]