Safeco chairman eyeing Senate race
SEATTLE – Mike McGavick, a longtime Republican political insider and chairman of Safeco Corp., said Tuesday he’s forming an exploratory committee for a U.S. Senate bid against Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell next year.
The step typically is tantamount to a full-blown candidacy, and many Republican Party activists were rushing to support him after Dino Rossi, the party’s unsuccessful gubernatorial contender, rejected a draft effort by the national GOP.
After announcing his plans to the Associated Press, McGavick held a news conference at a hotel across the street from the insurance company’s headquarters.
McGavick, 47, said he planned to file papers with the Federal Election Commission “in the next day or so” to officially form the exploratory committee. He did not say how long he would take to decide whether to run.
He’s already picked up significant early backing from party elders and business leaders. Former Sen. Slade Gorton, former Rep. Jennifer Dunn and Western Wireless Chairman and CEO John Stanton have stepped up to serve on his committee.
Cantwell, a former executive with RealNetworks, a digital media and software company, faces voters for the first time since knocking off Gorton in an extraordinarily close race in 2000.
McGavick is well known in political circles for his role in electing Gorton to the Senate in 1980, defeating powerful Sen. Warren G. Magnuson. He also directed Gorton’s winning comeback bid in 1988.
Sounding like a polished politician though he’s never held public office, McGavick waxed nostalgic Tuesday as he recalled his days on Capitol Hill during the “Reagan revolution.” He decried the “politics of character assassination” and bitter partisan battles that have overshadowed true debate in recent years.
He passed on chances to jab at Cantwell, saying only, “I do admire that she walked away from what she had going on to engage in public service.”
He dodged questions about his stances on specific issues, but did touch on the fierce debate over dams many environmentalists want breached to save salmon. “I have no doubt that we can have both fish and agriculture in Washington state,” he said.
He declined to say if he’ll use significant amounts of his own wealth, as Cantwell did and business leaders in others states have done to secure Senate seats. He did say that he feels personally troubled by “laws that allow wealthy individuals to have such a disproportionate effect in politics.”
Christian Sinderman, an adviser to Cantwell, called McGavick “an insurance industry lobbyist who is clearly on the side of corporations.”
Democratic Party Chairman Paul Berendt said Cantwell’s campaign is in good shape. As for McGavick, he said, “I don’t think people know who he is at all, although with enough money you can overcome that.”
Brian Nick, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said McGavick is “a wonderful candidate.”
“The committee’s thrilled to have him interested and taking this step. If you combine his business skills, his leadership qualities, and his political acumen, he’s really a great package for a leadership position, and the United States Senate is a perfect place for him.”
McGavick has been credited with leading Safeco out of financial peril and restoring profitability to the company’s auto, home and small-business insurance lines.
“Everybody thought Safeco was going to fail. Thousands upon thousands of jobs would have been lost,” he said.
“Today Safeco’s gone from red ink to record earnings,” he added. “We are adding jobs again, having gone through very painful job cuts during the first years of my tenure.”
Safeco announced Monday that McGavick will step down as chief executive on Aug. 31, retaining his duties as chairman of the board at least through the end of the year to smooth the transition for his successor. The company said a search for his replacement is already under way.
Also on Monday, former Rep. Rick White, R-Wash. — who unseated Cantwell in a 1994 House race — told the Associated Press he’s dropping out of the Senate race.
State GOP Chairman Chris Vance said he doesn’t expect to run, either. Diane Tebelius, a member of the Republican National Committee and unsuccessful contender in last fall’s 8th District congressional primary, is eyeing the Senate race.