Consultant Behind Breakup Fractured the Usual Bonds

In the clubby world of Beltway political consultants, breakups between candidates and their advisers are supposed to be handled quietly and with restraint.

So people in that circle were stunned this week when Alan Secrest, one of the most successful pollsters in the nation, tossed aside his 20-year relationship with U.S. Rep. James P. Moran and publicly accused the Alexandria Democrat of making an anti-Semitic remark during an internal campaign meeting March 18.

Moran, who is being challenged Tuesday for his party's nomination, denies making anti-Semitic comments and says the dispute with Secrest was about how much money the campaign owed Secrest's polling firm.

Secrest said Moran's comments, which he refuses to describe, were the "tipping point" in a frustrating and sometimes volatile working arrangement with Moran that needed to be ended. Secrest said a letter he wrote to Moran on May 25 ending their relationship was designed to quash the inevitable rumors about why he quit shortly before the primary.

"On the street, in back corners, in the cloak room, there's a whisper campaign" when candidates part ways with consultants, Secrest said. "I decided we would make clear we were leaving on our terms."

Moran said Secrest was trying to hurt him politically by taking advantage of his perceived vulnerability to criticism from Jewish voters. "Mr. Secrest may have seen an opportunity, and he chose to exploit it," he said.

Political operatives and other campaign officials said Secrest's very public denunciation of Moran is highly unusual and could hurt his ability to attract clients.

"You put your trust as a candidate into three people: your manager, your media consultant and your pollster," said Steve Jarding, who managed the 2001 campaign for Gov. Mark R. Warner (D) and is close to several Moran aides. "These are the guys you open your heart to. They know every wart. They know where every body is buried."

Still, it's hardly unique for tempers to flare during the heat of a campaign, and candidates often part ways with consultants. Chris Lehane, who quit John Kerry's presidential campaign during the Democratic primary in a dispute over the campaign's direction, went to work for Gen. Wesley Clark, then a Kerry rival. In that role, he distributed information to reporters that portrayed the Massachusetts senator negatively.

But Peter Fenn, a Democratic political consultant, said the Moran-Secrest clash is "unusual" because it happened so close to the primary and was so public.

Secrest said he's not worried about how his public split with Moran will affect his business.

"I extended respect to Jim for an awful long time," he said. "At some point, matters of integrity take over. If there's someone who is not interested in candor, I guess they won't hire us."

In the realm of top political pollsters, media advisers and campaign managers, Secrest has been a sought-after commodity -- someone who has proven that he can help candidates win.

A pollster for decades, Secrest has run the firm of Cooper & Secrest since 1985. Since then, the firm has helped elect more than 300 members of Congress and hundreds of state legislators and city council members.