WASHINGTON — Still more than a year away, the 1996 election is shaping up as a potential launching pad to bigger and better things for Sen. William Cohen.
Some Washington insiders speculate that Maine’s senior senator would be a natural fit as secretary of defense if Sen. Bob Dole wins the presidency. And Cohen’s early support of Dole for the GOP nomination won’t hurt his chances.
“Cohen is someone (Dole) looks to as an adviser and counselor,” said Dole’s campaign press secretary, Nelson Warfield.
Warfield said Cohen is a respected figure across the country and would be considered for the Cabinet of Dole or any other Republican president.
“Certainly, in the area of defense, Cohen would be an asset to any Republican administration,” Warfield said.
For now, Cohen admits only that he is running for re-election in 1996, stamping out speculation that 24 years on Capitol Hill was enough for him.
He won’t formally announce his candidacy until January, but he released a statement this week announcing his intentions.
“It is an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate, and I am preparing to seek another term in 1996,” he said.
Cohen’s campaign committee raised $525,673.94 in contributions in the first half of 1994, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission earlier this month. His total campaign kitty stands at about $675,000.
Any speculation on Cohen’s future hinges on three events: his winning re-election, Dole winning the presidency and the Republicans maintaining control of the Senate.
Cohen would be a logical choice for defense secretary because he has served on the top two Senate defense panels: the Armed Services Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence. Rumors spread in 1994 that President Clinton was considering nominating Cohen to replace outgoing Secretary Les Aspin.
“(Cohen) is kind of a defense hawk,” said political analyst Michael Barrone. “So I wouldn’t rule (defense secretary) out.”
Barrone, author of the “The Almanac of American Politics,” notes that several successful defense secretaries in the past have come from Congress.
One downside in any cabinet position for Cohen, however, would be the question of who independent Gov. Angus King would appoint to succeed him. A Republican White House might not want to run the risk of having King appoint a Democrat to replace Cohen, Barrone said.
If Cohen remains in the Senate for a fourth term, his seniority could propel him to the chairmanship of a major committee. He heads the Special Committee on Aging, but that committee lacks any power to move legislation to the Senate floor.
A more powerful chairmanship would be in the Armed Services Committee, where Cohen is the third-ranking GOP senator behind Sens. Strom Thurmond and John Warner.
An aging 92-year-old veteran, Thurmond of South Carolina leads this key committee. But if Thurmond decides to retire or becomes ill, that would leave only Warner ahead of Cohen.
Warner’s Virginia seat is also up in ’96. But he could face a stiff challenge from within his own party because of his support for abortion rights, especially in an increasingly conservative party that nominated Oliver North for the Senate a year ago.
Either job — defense secretary or chairman of armed services — could be a boon for Maine. Cohen could steer projects toward Maine’s leading defense contractor, Bath Iron Works.
Cohen spokesman Mike Townsend contends that Cohen is not interested in anything other than representing Maine.
“Any other possibilities would be purely speculative,” Townsend said.
But Townsend admits that if Cohen wins in ’96, the Cohen rumor mill might start running across the Capitol.
“It has been speculated in the past,” Townsend says. “And who knows if it will be speculated in the future?”
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