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Becky Armendariz Klein next FCC Chair?

The New York Times speculates that a Texan running for Congress, Becky Armendariz Klein, may get the nod for the next FCC Chairman, should President George W. Bush get re-elected.

Excerpts:

"Becky Armendariz Klein is widely expected to lose her bid for Congress in Texas. But that has not stopped executives and lawyers from the nation's largest telephone and energy companies from pouring money into her campaign.

Indeed, some of her strongest supporters expect her to fail.

Running as a Republican in a heavily Democratic district in Texas against a five-term incumbent, Ms. Klein, 39, has received more in donations and fund-raising help from the telecommunications and power industries than any other rookie candidate in the nation.

Why is Ms. Klein such a draw? Because administration officials have said that in the event of a second Bush administration she would be considered by the president, whom she served as a senior policy adviser when he was governor of Texas, as a candidate to be the next head of the Federal Communications Commission. And even if that does not work out, she is expected to receive a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, should a vacancy occur. Her husband is a senior official at the Pentagon.

...much of her money has come from a highly motivated group of executives from companies - many of them ones she once regulated as head of the utility commission - that are investing not so much in her current Congressional campaign as in the right to be considered Friends of Becky.

"Washington is all about relationships and her relationships are far, wide and deep," said a senior executive at a large telephone company who is a supporter and spoke only if not identified. "Washington is also about getting in early - that's the way the game is played."

"She's not going to win the race," the executive added.

According to Federal Election Commission filings, donations have come from executives, lawyers, Washington lobbyists and political action committees of the biggest telecommunications and utility companies. Among the[m]...are...from Verizon, BellSouth, Qwest Communications, Time Warner, AT&T, Allegiance Telecom, Covad, Qualcomm, IntelSat, American Electric Power, Centerpoint Energy, Exelon, TXU and Teco Energy."