Jumping Ship?

By MICHAEL WEISSKOPF/WASHINGTON

It was a small courtesy, but Charlie Stenholm never forgot it. During close re-election contests in the 1990s, Stenholm, the conservative Democratic Congressman from West Texas, never had to cope with George W. Bush campaigning against him. The Republican Governor never even posed for photos with Stenholm's rivals. "That doesn't happen by accident," Stenholm says.

Now will Stenholm return the favor? With the election in limbo, he is widely seen as one of a few influential Democrats who could break with Al Gore. Last week Stenholm suggested he would back Bush if the election is thrown into the House. And while he supports Gore's contest in Florida, he's quick to signal the limits of his patience. "The Vice President chose a path which I don't necessarily agree is helpful for him, for the party or for the country," he told TIME.

A Stenholm defection could cripple Gore, who needs party unity to stay in the game. Few Democrats have the reach of Stenholm, who leads the Blue Dog Democrats, a group of more than 30 conservatives and moderates who often vote as a bloc. "We could lose others if he defects," frets a Gore aide. Stenholm is fielding calls from Gore surrogates, and Bush allies have leaked his name as a possible Agriculture Secretary under Bush, an attractive prospect for a third-generation cotton farmer and ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee. "I addressed him as Mr. Secretary a couple of days ago," says Jere Lawrence, who helped run Stenholm's last campaign. If Stenholm plays his cards right, the next one to call him that might be Bush.

--By Michael Weisskopf/Washington