Republican expects more Benghazi 'whistle blowers'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Republican on Sunday said he expected more witnesses to step forward with information about last year's deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi and how President Barack Obama's administration responded to the unfolding events.

"I do think we're going to see more whistle blowers. I certainly know my committee has been contacted," Representative Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in an interview on "Fox News Sunday".

Last week, Republican charges that White House covered up details of the September 11, 2012 attack gathered more steam after former U.S. diplomat Greg Hicks told lawmakers he believed more could have been done to stop the assault by suspected Islamist militants.

Hicks, the second in command at the U.S. Embassy in Libya at the time, expressed his frustration in an emotionally charged congressional hearing that a U.S. military jet and special forces were not sent to help in Benghazi.

A report by ABC News provided additional momentum to the highly partisan flap over whether the administration tried to avoid casting the attack as terrorism at a time when the presidential election was less than two months away.

ABC released 12 versions of the administration's "talking points" on Benghazi that appeared to show how various agencies - particularly the State Department and the CIA - shaped what became the Obama administration's initial playbook for explaining how four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the attack.

The report showed the final talking points went through a series of revisions that scrubbed references to previous terror warnings, including one regarding the potential threat from al Qaeda in Benghazi and eastern Libya.

"I would call it a cover-up in the extent that there was willful removal of information," Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, said on ABC's "This Week".

McCain called for a select congressional committee with a mandate to interview "everybody," including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has already testified before Congress on the matter and accepted responsibility for the tragedy.

But McCain's call was brushed off by fellow Republican Representative Darrell Issa, who chairs the House of Representatives Oversight and Government committee that heard from Hicks last week.

"You know, let's not blow things out of proportion. This is a failure, it needs to be investigated. Our committee can investigate," Issa said.

Issa said he would be sending a request on Monday to privately depose two former U.S. officials that headed the Accountability Review Board, which investigated the Benghazi attacks and issued a scathing report on December 18 that criticized security at the mission and leadership "deficiencies".

Issa said he wanted to hear from Thomas Pickering, a former U.S. ambassador in the Middle East, Russia and India, and retired Admiral Michael Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, privately "so we can get the facts in a nonpartisan way."

Senator Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, told ABC News there was no basis to Republican charges of a cover up.

The Obama administration has provided over 25,000 pieces of documentation to Congress, which has already held 11 hearings on the matter, Reed said.

Meanwhile, Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican who served in Obama's Democratic administration, told CBS' "Face the Nation" it would have been "very difficult, if not impossible" to rescue the U.S. embassy officials and said he would have not have approved such an operation.

"To send some small number of special forces or other troops in without knowing what the environment is, without knowing what the threat is, without having any intelligence in terms of what is actually going on the ground, I think would have been very dangerous," Gates said.

"It's sort of a cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces" to think the United States could have mounted a rescue, Gates said.

It would have been risky just to send in a military jet to try to scare off the insurgents, "given the number of surface-to-air missiles" on the loose in Libya, he said.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer, Douwe Miedema and David Brunnstrom)

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House passes tactical Republican debt bill

By Rachelle Younglai

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republicans are expected to pass a bill on Thursday that would require the Obama administration to prioritize government debt payments and retirement benefits if Congress fails to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

The legislation is not expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House has said it will veto the bill, but what is essentially a tactical maneuver will allow the Republicans, who control the House, to argue they have done their best to avoid a potential U.S. credit default.

By the end of next week, the Obama administration will no longer be able to borrow money to fund government operations because Congress has only agreed to extend the government's borrowing authority until May 19.

This will force the U.S. Treasury to start using its limited accounting maneuvers to extend the debt limit, but such measures are not permanent and analysts say they could be exhausted by October.

The Republican bill would allow the U.S. Treasury to borrow more funds to pay the interest and principal on government bonds as well as retirement benefits.

"Financial markets ought to be confident that their Treasury bonds are safe, regardless of what political storms are raging in Washington," said Republican Representative Tom McClintock of California, who crafted the original version of the bill.

REPUBLICAN STRATEGY

House Republicans are looking for ways to deal with the debt limit while staying true to House Speaker John Boehner's rule that any debt-cap increase be matched by budget cuts and reforms.

The Republicans have been trying to force the administration to slash government spending and reform Medicare and Social Security benefits in return for an increase in the debt ceiling.

However, with no deal along those lines in sight, some allies of chief Republican tax writer Dave Camp have floated the idea of linking a debt-limit increase to a revamp of the tax code and lower tax rates.

This would allow lawmakers to skirt the politically painful decisions to cut Medicare and Social Security.

However, it is unclear mainstream party supporters, much less the conservative faction of the Republican Party, will go along with this.

"It wouldn't be enough," said Kevin Brady, a senior Republican from Texas who is on Camp's tax writing committee.

He said reform of the Social Security and Medicare benefits programs would still be required, a position echoed by Kansas Representative Tim Huelskamp.

Camp has been working for more than a year to draft an overhaul of the entire tax code and has vowed repeatedly to move legislation out of his Ways and Means Committee this year.

House Republican are due to hold a meeting next Wednesday to discuss the various options.

(Additional reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

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Democrat Markey leading Republican Gomez in Massachusetts Senate polls

By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - Democratic Congressman Ed Markey holds a lead over Republican political newcomer Gabriel Gomez in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race, though a newly released pair of polls differ on how wide his margin is.

A MassInc Polling Group/WBUR poll released on Thursday found that Markey, who has spent more than three decades in the House of Representatives, had the firm support of 41 percent of likely voters, with private equity executive Gabriel Gomez having 35 percent. When undecided voters were pushed to say which candidate they were leaning towards, Markey's lead broadened to 46 percent to 38 percent.

Another poll, by Suffolk University/7 News released late on Wednesday found a wider gap, with Markey holding the support of 52 percent of likely voters, with 35 percent backing Gomez.

The pair, who won their parties' nominations in April 30 primaries, will face off in a June 25 special election to fill the Senate seat that became available when President Barack Obama named John Kerry secretary of state.

The gap between the two poll results likely reflects the fact that not many voters are paying attention to the race, which comes at an unusual time, observers said.

"It's still rather low profile. Lots of folks probably have not made up their minds or really don't intend on voting," said Peter Ubertaccio, a professor of political science at Stonehill College, in Easton, Massachusetts.

Given the low voter engagement, a major part of each candidate's strategy will have to be focusing on getting voters out the door on election day, he said.

"In a special election, off year, during an odd time of the year, your ground game is crucial," Ubertaccio said.

A Gomez victory could help the Republicans retake a majority in the Senate, where they currently have 45 seats. There are 53 Democrats and two independents.

The race is Massachusetts' second off-cycle Senate election in three years; in 2010 voters opted for Republican Scott Brown, who had been a state senator, over Democratic state attorney general Martha Coakley to fill the seat that came open when Democrat Edward Kennedy died. In November, Brown was unseated by Democrat Elizabeth Warren.

Brown's win was unexpected in a liberal-leaning state and left the state's Democratic party to take a more aggressive approach in backing Markey, who declared his interest in the seat in December, even before Kerry stepped down.

"The early perception immediately after the party primaries was that Markey was vulnerable," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "These finds suggest the opposite of a close race."

Both polls found that a significant number of voters had not made up their minds about Gomez, the son of Colombian immigrants, with 47 percent in the MassInc poll undecided or unaware of him and 32 percent in the Suffolk poll undecided or unaware.

The MassInc/WBUR poll included 497 likely voters who were questioned on May 5 and 6. The Suffolk/7 News poll counted 500 likely voters from May 4 through May 7. Each has a margin of error of 4.4 percent.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; editing by Jackie Frank)

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Comeback complete, Republican Sanford could be wild card in Congress

By John Whitesides

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh off a redemptive win in South Carolina's special election, former Governor Mark Sanford's return to Congress will make him a prominent wild card in an already fractious Republican caucus.

Sanford, whose political career was short-circuited in 2009 by an extramarital affair that marred his last 18 months as governor, earned a political rebirth along with a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday by defeating Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch.

Sanford will arrive in Washington owing little to the Republican Party's leadership, which withheld its support as he battled Colbert Busch in their heavily Republican district. Once he returns to the House seat he held from 1995 to 2001, his independence and staunch fiscal conservatism could give him clout as Congress enters another round of divisive battles over the federal budget.

"There is obviously the potential for Sanford to be a real thorn in (the House Republican) leadership's side," Republican strategist Ford O'Connell said. "He's a free agent; he can do whatever he wants."

The House Republican campaign committee did not give any financial support to his bid for a political comeback, but Sanford said on Wednesday he was willing to work with party leaders.

"I would say yesterday is yesterday and today is today, and I look forward to working with them," Sanford said on CBS's "This Morning" show.

Sanford's victory completed his comeback from a scandal that began when he disappeared for five days in June 2009 to secretly visit his mistress in Argentina. He had told his staff that he would be hiking along the Appalachian Trail.

In launching his comeback, Sanford - now divorced from Jenny Sanford and engaged to Maria Belen Chapur, the Argentinian woman with whom he had the affair - survived a 16-way Republican primary and a runoff in April. He then topped Colbert Busch in the race to succeed Republican Tim Scott, who was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated when Jim DeMint retired.

The House Republican campaign committee dropped its financial support of Sanford last month after reports that his ex-wife had accused him of trespassing on her property, in violation of their divorce agreement. Sanford said he was in the house to watch the Super Bowl with his youngest son.

Sanford will appear in court in South Carolina on Thursday to answer the trespassing complaint before he heads to Washington to resume his career in Congress.

'PROVEN RECORD'

Sanford attributed his win to his record of fiscal conservatism. He said on Wednesday he will have "plenty of friends" in Washington and would work hard with members of both parties to cut the budget.

"At the end of the day, I think people care about how politics impacts their lives," he said on NBC's "Today" show. "I've got a rather proven record in trying to do something on that front, particularly as it relates to financial issues."

House Speaker John Boehner and other Republican leaders have had difficulty keeping conservative members in line during the budget debates. Sanford pushed hard to cut spending during his first stint in Congress, before the Tea Party movement made it a top priority for Republicans, and he can be expected to make his voice heard during the upcoming budget battles.

"He's been a little bit of a rebel. He's been more conservative than about 90 percent of Republicans based on his past voting record," said Gibbs Knotts, political science chairman at College of Charleston.

He also is likely to be around a while. The heavy Republican tilt of the coastal district, which Mitt Romney won by 18 percentage points last year in the presidential election, makes it unlikely that Democrats will be able to mount a viable challenge to Sanford anytime soon.

Both parties tried to make the best of Sanford's win, however. Republicans portrayed it as a sign of voter dissatisfaction with the agenda of national Democrats and President Barack Obama. Democrats said his election would undermine Republican efforts to appeal to women voters.

But analysts warned that, despite all the national attention to the race, the result probably revealed little about the broader mood of voters in the off-year between the 2012 presidential election and the 2014 congressional elections.

Sanford was able to link Colbert Busch to Washington liberals like House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, appearing at one point in a mock debate with a cardboard cutout of the liberal Pelosi.

"It was a triumph of demographics and ideology for Sanford. He took positions that were more in line with the district's Republican voters," Knotts said.

The Democratic House campaign committee and Democratic-leaning outside groups poured nearly $1 million into the race against Sanford. Despite the loss, they said Sanford's election made a mockery of Republican efforts to appeal to women.

"House Republicans' outreach to women voters now has Mark Sanford as the face," said Representative Steve Israel of New York, Democratic House campaign committee chairman. "Republicans now have to defend him and stand with him until election day."

Although they failed to support his campaign, national Republicans claimed it was a warning sign for Democrats looking toward the 2014 elections.

"At the end of the day, running on the Obama-Pelosi ticket was just too toxic for Elizabeth Colbert Busch," said Representative Greg Walden of Oregon, Republican House campaign committee chairman.

(Additional reporting by Harriet McLeod in South Carolina, Vicki Allen in Washington; Editing by David Lindsey and Cynthia Osterman)

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Veteran Democrat, Republican newcomer win Massachusetts Senate primaries

By Scott Malone

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Democratic Massachusetts lawmaker who has spent more than three decades in Congress will face off against a Republican who is a political novice and former Navy SEAL in the race to fill the state's open U.S. Senate seat.

Primary voters on Tuesday picked Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez as their candidates in the June 25 special election, the second such race the state has seen in three years.

A Gomez victory could help Republicans move toward their goal of retaking a majority in the Senate, where they currently have 45 seats. There are 53 Democrats and two independents.

Markey was the first candidate to enter the race and polls showed him with a solid lead against all potential Republican opponents. Gomez's result was more of a surprise as a better-known rival, former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, led in earlier polls.

While Democratic candidates typically enjoy a strong advantage in liberal-leaning Massachusetts, Markey and his party still have vivid memories of the state's last special U.S. Senate election three years ago when Republican Scott Brown upset state Attorney General Martha Coakley.

"Gomez's nomination adds an element of uncertainty," said Peter Ubertaccio, a professor of political science at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. "He's a newcomer who has pulled off a very interesting victory and has money, and that is going to add an element of unpredictability to the general election."

THE BATTLE BEGINS

The two nominees immediately turned their fire one another.

Markey told a crowd of cheering supporters that if elected to the Senate he would continue to stand up for hot-button liberal issues including gun control and access to abortion, and sought to tie his rival to the national Republican Party.

"The Republican Super PACs see this election as their first shot at stopping President (Barack) Obama's agenda," Markey said. "Mark my words, these outside special interests are going to march right into Massachusetts beginning tomorrow morning."

Gomez, meanwhile, portrayed himself as more independent, saying he supported term limits for elected officials.

"If you're looking for an independent voice, a new kind of Republican, take a look at our campaign," Gomez said.

Turnout was light in an off-cycle election that came a little more than two weeks after a bombing attack at the Boston Marathon that caused all five candidates to pause their campaigns and knocked the election off the front pages of local papers.

Markey was first elected to the House in 1976. He is ranking member of the chamber's Natural Resources Committee and outspoken on environmental issues.

Born of Colombian immigrants, Gomez's first language was Spanish. He entered the military after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and became a pilot before entering SEAL training. After leaving the Navy in 1996, he went on to graduate from Harvard Business School and joined private equity firm Advent International.

The seat became available when John Kerry became the U.S. Secretary of State. Democrat Kerry had served as U.S. Senator from Massachusetts since 1985.

Markey bested fellow Democratic Representative Stephen Lynch, while Gomez faced State Representative Daniel Winslow, as well as Sullivan.

Gomez drew criticism from his primary rivals for having written a letter to the state's Democratic Governor Deval Patrick, asking to be appointed to the seat on an interim basis.

Patrick instead tapped his former chief of staff, William Cowan, who serves as interim senator and did not enter the race.

The winner of the June vote will serve alongside the state's current senior Senator, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who last year unseated Brown.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Grant McCool, Philip Barbara and Lisa Shumaker)

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Republican group parts with Sanford after trespassing report

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has been accused by his ex-wife of trespassing at her home and must appear in court on May 9, two days after he stands for election as the Republican nominee for an open congressional seat.

Jenny Sanford, who divorced the former governor after revelations of his affair with an Argentine woman while he was in office, returned from a trip on February 3 to find Mark Sanford leaving her home through a back door using his phone as a flashlight, according to court documents.

Mark Sanford said on Wednesday that he had gone to her house on Sullivan's Island near Charleston to watch a football game with one of the couple's four sons.

"I did indeed watch the second half of the Super Bowl at the beach house with our 14-year-old son because as a father I didn't think he should watch it alone," Sanford said in a statement.

"Given she was out of town, I tried to reach her beforehand to tell her of the situation that had arisen, and met her at the back steps under the light of my cell phone when she returned and told her what had happened," he said.

The trespassing allegation comes as Mark Sanford seeks to make a political comeback by running for South Carolina's 1st congressional district seat, which he held from 1995 to 2001.

He will face Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of TV comedian and political satirist Stephen Colbert, in a special election on May 7. The seat was previously held by Tim Scott, who in December was appointed to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Sanford has faced criticism for a 2009 incident while he was governor, in which he tried to cover up a trip to Argentina to visit his mistress by saying he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He is now engaged to the woman.

The Sanfords' 2010 divorce agreement states that neither can enter the other's home without specific permission, according to the complaint filed by Jenny Sanford in Charleston County court.

The complaint alleges Mark Sanford has previously disobeyed the order and "has entered into a pattern of entering onto plaintiff's property, both at her former and current residences, without her permission and against her wishes."

Jenny Sanford has "demanded that it not occur again" and also filed a "No Trespass" letter with her local police department, the complaint said.

Jenny Sanford, who used to manage Mark Sanford's campaigns, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Colbert Busch declined through a spokesman to comment about the accusation against her opponent.

"There is always another side to every story," Mark Sanford said in his statement, adding that it was his belief the court records should have been sealed.

"I agree with Jenny that the media is no place to debate what is ultimately a family court matter, and out of respect for Jenny and the boys, I'm not going to have any further comment at this time," he said.

(Reporting by Harriet McLeod; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Cynthia Johnston and Steve Orlofsky)

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Republican Senator Paul fuels ideas of presidential bid in '16

By Sam Youngman

WASHINGTON - (Reuters) - Republican Senator Rand Paul, a favorite of the conservative Tea Party movement, fueled speculation on Wednesday that he will follow in his father's footsteps and run for president in 2016.

Paul, a freshman senator from Kentucky, told reporters he will visit early voting states this year and indicated he will make a final decision next year.

Paul's father, former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, was a presidential candidate three times, running once as a Libertarian and twice as a Republican. He won Libertarian and Tea Party movement voters during the last Republican primaries, but failed to win broad support.

The younger Paul, at a media breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor, said he wants a voice in rebuilding the Republican Party after its losses to Democratic President Barack Obama.

"I want to be part of the national debate, so whether I run or not, being considered is something that allows me to have a larger microphone," Paul said.

Paul said he plans to visit Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the first three states to vote in the Republican nomination battle, this year.

Paul expanded his national profile when he led a 13-hour filibuster on March 7 to highlight the risk of the potential use of drones on American soil. The move sparked the slogan "Stand with Rand."

Earlier in the spring, Paul spoke along with other Republican up-and-comers, including Florida Senator Marco Rubio, at a Washington gathering of conservatives known as the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC).

At that conference, a number of young Republicans wore t-shirts proclaiming "Stand with Rand."

Paul also told reporters on Wednesday he will do what he can to help fellow Kentuckian Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader, get re-elected next year.

Relations between the two had a rough start as Paul, seen as the insurgent candidate, defeated McConnell's choice, Trey Grayson, in the Republican primary on his way to victory in 2010.

Paul said of McConnell: "I've endorsed him. I've raised money for him. And I will try to see him re-elected. I think he's good for Kentucky."

(Reporting by Sam Youngman; Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Vicki Allen)

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Republican senator sees Obama budget offer as positive

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham on Sunday became the first prominent Republican to publicly praise, however lukewarm, the budget proposal the White House outlined last week.

Graham said that while he believes President Barack Obama's plan is overall bad for the economy, "there are nuggets of his budget that I think are optimistic." He was speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

Graham, a conservative who has deviated from party positions in the past, and has said he would consider raising up to $600 billion in new tax revenue if Democrats accept significant changes to Medicare, the government health program for elderly Americans, and Medicaid, the health safety net for low-income people.

The White House on Friday said the president would propose a budget that would offer cuts to so-called entitlement programs such as Social Security, a retirement program, and Medicare in exchange for increased tax revenues and a commitment to spend money on education and infrastructure repair.

Obama's proposal, which will formally be made public on Wednesday, is a symbolic document, and both the Senate and House of Representatives have already passed their own budget resolutions.

The president's aides have said he hopes to use the offer to appeal to enough middle-of-the-road lawmakers of both parties to pass a broad deal to reduce the budget deficit.

Obama also hopes to reverse the deep spending cuts that automatically kicked in March 1 as a result of the failure of the White House and Congress to reach an agreement on replacing them.

Graham's reception of the president's budget proposal is warmer than fellow Republicans and some of the president's own allies have accorded it so far.

House Speaker John Boehner said last week the president was ignoring Republicans' staunch opposition to any tax hikes. And independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who votes with the Democrats, said he would oppose any efforts to lower payments to Social Security beneficiaries.

But Graham said that the president's offer contained approaches to cutting spending that he supports. One is the proposal to index cost-of-living increases for government program benefits to a less-generous measure of inflation.

"The president is showing a little bit of leg here, this is somewhat encouraging," Graham said. "He has sort of made a step forward in the entitlement-reform process."

Obama has invited 12 Republican senators for dinner on the day of the budget release as part of an effort to soften resistance among the opposition political party.

"The president's focus, in addition to the regular order process that members of Congress say they want, is to try to find a caucus of common sense, folks who are willing to compromise, that don't think compromise is a dirty word, and try to get something done," White House senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer said on ABC News' "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" program.

(Reporting By Aruna Viswanatha and Philip Barbara, writing by Mark Felsenthal)

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Sanford headed for runoff in South Carolina Republican primary: TV

By Harriet McLeod

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Former Governor Mark Sanford advanced to a Republican Party runoff in a special primary election to fill one of South Carolina's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, WCBD-TV projected on Tuesday.

The primary runoff is set for April 2.

The winner of the runoff will face Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of TV comedian and political satirist Stephen Colbert, who easily won the Democratic Party nomination on Tuesday in her first run for political office.

The general election is set for May 7.

Sanford comfortably led the Republican field of candidates with 37 percent of ballots, according to results posted on official website of the State Election Commission, but not enough to avoid a runoff. It was not clear who he will face in the runoff with two other candidates tied for second place.

Colbert Busch won the Democratic contest by a landslide taking more than 95 percent of ballots cast. During the campaign she touted her experience as director of sales for a shipping line and a leader in advocating science and math education in South Carolina.

Her famous brother, host of the late night TV political comedy show, The Colbert Report, campaigned on her behalf.

Sanford says he is seeking redemption after an affair in office that ended his marriage. Sanford's wife divorced him when the affair became public in 2009, after aides said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was in fact visiting Argentina.

He is now engaged to his former mistress Maria Belen Chapur, an Argentine journalist.

The congressional seat was vacated by Republican Tim Scott, who was appointed to replace Republican Jim DeMint in the U.S. Senate after he resigned in December to head the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

The district, which was redrawn after the 2010 Census, encompasses the city of Charleston and parts of four nearby rural counties and stretches south along the coast to include wealthy Hilton Head Island.

(Editing by Dan Trotta, David Adams and Lisa Shumaker)

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Christie is most competitive Republican vs. Democrats in 2016: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is the Republican best placed to compete against potential Democratic presidential candidates, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday that also underscored Democrat Hillary Clinton's strength should she run.

As Republicans gather in the Washington area this weekend to ponder their future after losing the 2012 presidential race, the poll showed how far the party has to go to regain its footing and be competitive at the national level again.

The online survey found that Christie is preferred narrowly when matched up against Vice President Joe Biden, 34 percent to 33 percent, and Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 36 percent to 32 percent.

Against Clinton, however, Christie fares far worse. The former secretary of state leads by 48 percent to 28 percent.

The brash, portly New Jersey governor has not said whether he will run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

A moderate who was criticized by some Republicans for praising President Barack Obama's response to Superstorm Sandy last year, Christie was not invited to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference this week.

"Christie is really the only one in the head-to-heads who gains any ground against the Democratic candidates - not against Clinton, who seems to be the favorite, although we are so far out that these numbers are very soft," said Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

Among possible Republican candidates, the leader of the 2016 pack is Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee and 2012 vice presidential running mate for Mitt Romney.

Ryan has been in the news lately for proposing a budget blueprint that would make deep cuts in government spending as a way to balance the U.S. budget in 10 years. The Obama White House has denounced the Ryan budget as draconian.

When Republican and independent voters were asked about which Republican they would vote for in 2016, Ryan took a 22 percent share. Sixteen percent said Christie and 14 percent backed former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is not believed to be running in 2016 at this stage.

Rounding out the field were Florida Senator Marco Rubio at 9 percent, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush at 6 percent and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal at 3 percent.

CLINTON VERY STRONG

The poll showed just how strong Clinton's name recognition is less than two months after the former first lady ended her four years as secretary of state.

Clinton leads the Democratic field at 51 percent, far outpacing Biden, who was at 12 percent. She leads all potential Republican challengers by wide margins.

Cuomo, who is said to be considering a run, is way back at 4 percent, as is Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker (4 percent), Virginia Senator Mark Warner (2 percent), Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (1 percent) and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (1 percent).

Clinton has said she wants some time off to rest after her grueling global travel schedule and consider her next move. Medical issues, including a blood clot in her head, complicated the final weeks of her time at the State Department.

A surprisingly strong showing in the poll came from Rice, who was secretary of state for Republican President George W. Bush. She was a well-received speaker at last year's Republican National Convention.

The poll found that she was viewed favorably by 71 percent of Americans, including 80 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of independents.

The survey said 29 percent have an unfavorable view of Rice, who last year was accepted as one of the first women to join the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia where the Masters tournament is played.

For the survey, 1,224 Americans aged 18 and over were interviewed online, including 511 Democrats, 447 Republicans and 162 independents.

The precision of the Reuters/Ipsos poll is measured by a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points for all, 4.9 percentage points for Democrats, 5.3 percentage points for Republicans, and 8.8 percentage points for independents.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by Alistair Bell; Editing by Eric Beech)

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Club for Growth fuels Republican rift with primary challenges

By John Whitesides

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The anti-tax advocacy group Club for Growth, an unapologetic purveyor of in-your-face fiscal conservatism, has no time for the Republican hand-wringing that followed November's bitter election loss.

The combative Club is preparing to spend millions of dollars next year on its latest round of primary challenges to Republican lawmakers who it believes have violated its conservative economic principles.

The confrontational strategy flies in the face of post-election Republican efforts to become a more accommodating and less ideological party, and is certain to deepen the rift between the party's conservative warriors and more pragmatic establishment wing.

It also is certain to cement the Club's reputation, earned over more than a decade of sometimes brutal primary battles, as the outside group most likely to frustrate party bosses.

"Our job is not to elect Republicans, that's not what we do," said Chris Chocola, a former Republican congressman who now heads the Club.

"If we make people uncomfortable, that's OK," he said. "Our effectiveness lies in our uncompromising adherence to our mission, and in our proven ability to impact races."

The Club, founded in 1999, has become one of Washington's most powerful conservative pressure groups. It works to promote tax cuts and limited government while pumping millions of dollars into Republican congressional primaries on behalf of the most ideologically pure candidates.

As a result, it frequently challenges incumbents and clashes with party insiders, including Republican congressional campaign committees and other outside pressure groups.

The Club relishes fights with pragmatists like strategist Karl Rove, whose new American Crossroads spin-off, the Conservative Victory Project, will focus on Republican primaries to produce the most electable - but not necessarily the most conservative - candidates.

That kind of bottom-line approach will backfire on Republicans over the long haul, Chocola said.

'PARTY BRAND'

"When all you care about is the Republican Party brand, and you don't care about what the candidate believes, you can't build a sustainable party," he added.

Steve LaTourette, a Republican who retired from Congress in January and now leads the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership, said the Club's influence has grown as the party veered to the right. His group is starting its own Super PAC to counter the Club and protect center-right candidates from primary challenges in 2014.

Super PACs, unlike normal political action committees, are barred from contributing directly to candidates or parties but face no limits on spending independently on issues and or on fundraising.

"They have set themselves up as judge, jury and executioner as to who is a good Republican and who is not a good Republican," LaTourette said.

Many Republicans blame their failure to gain control of the Senate on losses in winnable races after conservative candidates - supported by groups like Club for Growth and the fiscally conservative Tea Party - defeated establishment-backed foes in primaries but proved too weak to win the general election.

The Club backed two of the most prominent of those Republican Senate losers, Sharron Angle of Nevada in 2010 and Richard Mourdock of Indiana in 2012.

But Chocola said the Club has far more success stories. It backed fast-rising winners like Senators Ted Cruz of Texas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Jeff Flake of Arizona and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who was Chocola's predecessor at Club for Growth.

He noted that establishment-backed Republicans also lost Senate races last year in Montana, North Dakota, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Virginia. "They all lost because they didn't provide enough of a contrast to their opponent," Chocola said.

With 100,000 members, the Club's political action committee serves as a conduit, or bundler, of contributions to endorsed candidates. In the 2012 cycle, it bundled nearly $7 million to candidates, and its Super PAC spent nearly $18 million on advocacy ads.

LaTourette said the Club's influence was undeniable. Its call for the defeat of House Speaker John Boehner's "Plan B" proposal during fiscal cliff negotiations in December was critical in turning the tide against it, he said.

Looking toward 2014, the Club has launched a website called "Primary My Congressman." It solicits opponents for nine House Republicans from safe districts won by Republican Mitt Romney with at least 53 percent of the vote. But these members have a lifetime Club for Growth rating of less than 70 percent.

The targeted House members are labeled "Rinos - Republicans in Name Only" for supporting, among other things, an increased national debt ceiling, the "fiscal cliff" budget deal and funding for Superstorm Sandy damage.

Those hit with the threat of a primary are Aaron Schock and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma, Steven Palazzo of Mississippi, Mike Simpson of Idaho, Martha Roby of Alabama, Larry Bucshon of Indiana, Renee Ellmers of North Carolina and Rick Crawford of Arkansas.

They defended their voting records, and some questioned the Club's priorities.

"Anytime I have to choose between the influences of D.C. political groups and my fellow Oklahomans - I will always side with my fellow Oklahomans," Lucas said.

Critics said programs like Primary My Congressman, which includes an appeal for donations, are a fundraising tool for the Club but represent an unproductive political strategy.

"You have to win before you can govern, and the Club for Growth eliminates a lot of candidates who many Republicans would consider to be conservative enough," said former congressman Tom Reynolds of New York, who frequently tangled with the group when he headed the House Republican campaign committee.

"I don't see a willingness to compromise," he said. "With Club for Growth, it's all or nothing."

(Editing by Marilyn W. Thompson and Eric Walsh)

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Second Republican says he passes threshold for Massachusetts Senate race

BOSTON (Reuters) - A second Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate reported on Tuesday that he had collected enough signatures for a spot in the race to vie for the seat previously held by John Kerry, setting the stage for two competitive party primaries in April.

Gabriel Gomez, a former Navy SEAL and private equity executive, said his campaign had gathered 25,000 signatures of registered voters, exceeding the 10,000 names required by state law and matching the total claimed by rival Republican Dan Winslow, a state representative.

"Our campaign against crushing debt (and) gridlock starts Thursday," Gomez said via his Twitter feed.

The signature requirement was seen as a higher hurdle for Winslow and Gomez, a political newcomer, than for Democratic contenders Edward Markey and Stephen Lynch, two U.S. congressmen with large existing campaign organizations.

All four candidates, as well as former Boston U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan, a Republican, face a Wednesday deadline to submit 10,000 signatures of registered voters to win a place on the ballot in the April 30 primary.

The special election to fill the seat that came open when John Kerry was named secretary of state has been scheduled for June 25.

Markey and Lynch have called on all candidates in the race to sign a "People's Pledge" that would have candidates reject third-party advertisements and mailings in support of their campaigns.

Outside-funded ads, often used to attack rival candidates, have become a major force in U.S. elections and of particular concern in races like the upcoming Massachusetts race, which falls outside the normal November voting cycle.

Both candidates in last year's Massachusetts Senate election, in which Democrat Elizabeth Warren ousted incumbent Republican Scott Brown, agreed to reject outside ads.

So far in this race, Republican Winslow has refused to sign the pledge, saying he had no reason to reject outside support - and noting that both Markey and Lynch already had well-funded campaign machines. Gomez so far has not made a decision on whether to abide by the pledge, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Republicans currently hold 45 seats in the U.S. Senate.

Following Kerry's appointment to the Cabinet, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, appointed his former chief of staff, William Cowan, to the seat until a successor is picked. Cowan said he would not run in the special election.

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Von Ahn)

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Republican Senator McCain says Hagel "not qualified" as defense secretary

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator John McCain on Sunday said his former colleague Chuck Hagel was not qualified to be U.S. defense secretary but the Senate would likely vote on his nomination rather than hold it up with procedural hurdles.

Before going on a weeklong recess, Republican lawmakers succeeded in delaying a Senate vote on Hagel's nomination earlier this month. Hagel is expected to win confirmation if a vote is held because Democrats control 55 votes in the 100-seat Senate.

"I do not believe that Chuck Hagel, who is a friend of mine, is qualified to be secretary of defense," McCain of Arizona said on CNN's "State of the Union" show.

"I believe that when the questions are answered, and I believe they will be by this coming week that the president deserves an up or down vote" on Hagel, said McCain, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Hagel's nomination was likely to go for a vote in the Senate "barring some additional revelation," he said.

Hagel, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, angered Republicans when as senator he broke from his party by opposing former President George W. Bush's handling of the Iraq war.

Republicans are demanding more information from the administration related to the attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, last year.

The Senate confirmation vote on John Brennan for CIA director also faces delay over the request by Republicans for more information related to Benghazi.

"I don't want to put a hold on anybody, but the American people deserve answers about Benghazi. There are so many questions that are still out there, including what was the president doing the night Benghazi happened?" McCain said.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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