Posted on 07/01/2002 4:08:31 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
ASHINGTON, June 30 — Representative J. C. Watts Jr., an Oklahoma Republican who has told colleagues he is strongly considering retiring at the end of the year, has scheduled a news conference for Monday in Norman, Okla., to announce his decision, Congressional officials said today.
Early last week, Mr. Watts, the lone black Republican in Congress and chairman of his party's House conference, had been leaning toward not seeking re-election in November, the officials said.
But he began to rethink his plans at the urging of Republican leaders, including President Bush and Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois, the officials said.
"I honestly can say I don't think he's made up his mind," a person close to Mr. Watts said today.
Mr. Watts, 44, is known for delaying his re-election decisions, Congressional officials say, in part to strengthen his hand in negotiations with House Republicans over leadership positions and programs for his district.
But Congressional officials have said that Mr. Watts, a four-term Republican, has seemed more serious about quitting this time, expressing frustrations about his ability to get things done and a desire to spend more time with his wife and six children.
Mr. Watts is the fourth-ranking Republican in the House, but his ability to move up in the leadership ranks seems uncertain. Representative Tom DeLay of Texas, the majority whip, appears to have overwhelming support to replace Representative Dick Armey as majority leader, the No. 2 position in the House, after Mr. Armey retires at the end of the year.
Mr. Watts has also complained that the Republican Party has not done enough to promote blacks into high-profile positions in government.
As well, he is angry with the way the Bush administration handled the cancellation this spring of the Army's Crusader artillery system, which was to be assembled in his district and based at nearby Fort Sill.
Mr. Watts spent Friday campaigning in North Carolina for Representative Robin Hayes, preached at a church in Virginia this morning and then flew home to Norman this afternoon, his office said.
Congressional officials said Mr. Watts spoke to Mr. Hastert several times last week about his future. On "Meet the Press" on NBC a week ago, Mr. Hastert made it clear that he did not want Mr. Watts to retire.
"J. C. Watts is certainly somebody who I depend on," Mr. Hastert said. "He carries out our whole communications effort."
Mr. Watts, a star quarterback on the University of Oklahoma football team in the early 1980's, won re-election handily in his last two races, taking 65 percent of the vote in 2000 and 62 percent in 1998. But because Democrats have won the seat in the past and because the district is being redrawn, political analysts have said it could become a competitive race if Mr. Watts does not run.
Never let a good accusation go substantiated.
Can the Republican Party survive?
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