Don't count on former U.S. representative Constance A. Morella (R) returning from Paris to try to reclaim her 8th District congressional seat.
With incumbent Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D) mulling a run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Paul S. Sarbanes (D), Republican leaders have been shopping around for a candidate who they think could win if there is an open seat.
Montgomery County Council member Howard A. Denis (R-Bethesda-Potomac) said he and several other Republican leaders have contacted Morella, who lost her seat to Van Hollen in 2002, to see if she was interested in running again.
"I think there very well could be a yearning for her type of leadership and personality and maybe a feeling of perhaps we were too quick to pull on the trigger last time," Denis said.
But Morella, a liberal Republican who represented the 8th District for 16 years, told Denis she isn't interested.
"I think she likes being an ambassador," Denis said. "At least that is the impression I got back."
After Van Hollen narrowly defeated Morella, President Bush named her ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is based in Paris.
Denis, who visited Morella in Paris over the Christmas holidays, said she lives in a multistory house facing the Bois de Boulogne, a large park.
"After visiting her . . . I could well understand why she should not be interested," Denis said.
At least a dozen Democrats are considering running if Van Hollen steps down. So far, Charles R. Floyd is the only Republican to indicate that he plans to run.
Floyd, a retired military officer and State Department employee, ran against Van Hollen last year but lost by about 75 percent of the vote. Floyd has said his 2006 campaign will focus on illegal immigration.
Denis, however, said he thinks Morella would be the only GOP candidate who could win in a district that includes the western and southern portions of Montgomery and a small section of Prince George's. Besides her moderate image, Denis suspects a lot of residents would vote for her because they still think she is the incumbent.
