% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.





PORTLAND, Ore.—Republicans on the campaign trail are bashing the president and his agenda and some are vowing to shut down Washington if they don’t get their way. Behind the scenes, key party members are talking a different game.

View Full Image Leah Nash for The Wall Street Journal Mr. McCarthy, a top GOP House recruiter, left, with Oregon candidate Scott Bruun.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie talks to Jerry Seib about the Republicans’ strategy this campaign season as the party tries to take control of the House and Senate.

A number of House Republicans, including some who are likely to be in the leadership, are pushing a post-election strategy aimed at securing concrete legislation, with the goal of showing they can translate general principles into specific action.

Among the ideas is to bring a series of bills to the floor, as often as once a week, designed to cut spending in some way. Longer term, GOP leaders say they recognize they may have to compromise with Democrats in tackling broader problems.

If they recapture the House, Republicans say they are wary of following the example of the class of 1994, which shut down the government in a standoff with President Bill Clinton. Top Republicans contend that passing legislation, or at least making a good faith effort to do so, will earn them more credibility with voters than refusing to waver from purist principles.

“It’s pretty clear the American people expect us to use the existing gridlock to create compromise and advance their agenda,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.). “They want us to come together [with the administration] after we agree to disagree.”

GOP leaders stressed that this depends on the willingness of President Barack Obama to compromise as well. And some say if the post-election atmosphere is especially toxic, such compromises may be difficult.

The approach stands in contrast to the Senate, where Republican nominees including Kentucky’s Rand Paul and Nevada’s Sharron Angle more clearly represent the anti-establishment instincts of the tea-party movement. This would be a role reversal of sorts—the Senate was designed by the founding fathers to be the more sober institution.

Under the leadership of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a rising star, the GOP has recruited a slate of House candidates with an array of political experience, suggesting they know how to work within the strictures of government. In many cases, these aspirants boast of their record of working with Democrats.

The GOP roster doesn’t fit the image of an invading revolutionary force. Of the Republicans’ 89 “Young Guns,” as the party’s top House candidates are called, 55 have political experience. Five are former congressmen seeking their old seats back, such as former Rep. Steve Chabot, who served 14 years in the House. The rest are mostly state legislators, a typical path to Congress. Of the 34 newcomers, many are relatively mainstream candidates or aren’t expected to win.

On a trip last week to encourage candidates in the Northwest, Mr. McCarthy visited a number of relatively traditional GOP candidates. Among them were Jaime Herrera, a Washington state legislator and former congressional aide. Mr. McCarthy appeared with Oregon State Rep. Scott Bruun, a legislator known for working with Democrats. And he held a breakfast fund-raiser in Portland for Rob Cornilles, a political novice and underdog in a Democratic district.

House Republican leaders including Mr. McCarthy have reached out to the tea-party movement, attended rallies, crafted a “Pledge to America” that reflects the movement’s anti-establishment sensibilities and emphasized their sympathy with activists’ anger at Washington. The incoming Republican caucus intends to move swiftly on key conservative priorities including spending, taxes and deficits.

But the party is also aware it may have a brief shot at convincing voters it has changed since the last time it held power, under President George W. Bush. Most Republicans now say the party strayed in matters such as spending and ethics.

The Young Guns See who the Republican party considers its top candidates: Martha Roby – AL 2

Mo Brooks – AL 5

Rick Crawford – AR 1

Tim Griffin – AR 2

Paul Gosar – AZ 1

David Schweikert – AZ 5

Jesse Kelly – AZ 8

David Harmer – CA 11

Van Tran – CA 47

Scott Tipton – CO 3

Cory Gardner – CO 4

Ryan Frazier – CO 7

Dan Debicella – CT 4

Sam Caliguri – CT 5

Steve Southerland – FL 2

Daniel Webster – FL 8

Dennis Ross – FL 12

Allen West – FL 22

Sandy Adams – FL 24

David Rivera – FL 25

Mike Keown – GA 2

Austin Scott – GA 8

Ben Lange – IA 1

Mariannette Miller-Meeks – IA 2

Bob Dold – IL 10

Adam Kinzinger – IL 11

Randy Hultgren – IL 14

Bobby Schilling – IL 17

Jackie Walorski – IN 2

Larry Bucschon – IN 8

Todd Young – IN 9

Kevin Yoder – KS 3

Andy Barr – KY 6

Jeff Perry – MA 10

Andy Harris – MD 1

Dan Benishek – MI 1

Tim Walberg – MI 7

Randy Demmer – MN 1

Ed Martin – MO 3

Vicky Hartzler – MO 4

Alan Nunnelee – MS 1

Steven Palazzo – MS 4

Ilario Pantano – NC 7

Harold Johnson – NC 8

Jeff Miller – NC 11

Rick Berg – ND AL

Frank Guinta – NH 1

Charlie Bass – NH 2

Jon Runyan – NJ 3

Jon Barela – NM 1

Steve Pearce – NM 2

Joe Heck – NV 3

Randy Altschuler – NY 1

Nan Hayworth – NY 19

Chris Gibson – NY 20

Matt Doheny – NY 23

Richard Hanna – NY 24

Ann Marie Buerkle – NY 25

Tom Reed – NY 29

Steve Chabot – OH 1

Bill Johnson – OH 6

Tom Ganley – OH 13

Steve Stivers – OH 15

Jim Renacci – OH 16

Bob Gibbs – OH 18

Rob Cornilles – OR 1

Scott Bruun – OR 5

Mike Kelly – PA 3

Keith Rothfus – PA 4

Pat Meehan – PA 7

Mike Fitzpatrick – PA 8

Lou Barletta – PA 11

Tim Burns – PA 12

Mick Mulvaney – SC 5

Kristi Noem – SD AL

Scott DesJarlais – TN 4

Stephen Fincher – TN 8

Bill Flores – TX 17

Francisco Canseco – TX 23

Scott Rigell – VA 2

Robert Hurt – VA 5

Morgan Griffith – VA 9

Keith Fimian – VA 11

John Koster – WA 2

Jaime Herrera – WA 3

Dan Kapanke – WI 3

Sean Duffy – WI 7

Reid Ribble – WI 8

David McKinley – WV 1

Spike Maynard – WV 3

“If we Republicans get a second chance and screw it up, we’ll be put in the wilderness for a generation,” Mr. Bruun said.

Rep. Bob Inglis of South Carolina, who lost his Republican primary to a challenge from the right, compared the GOP candidates to surfers using a tea-party wave to reach the shore. Once they arrive, he said, many will act like the lawmakers they replaced.

“Not every candidate that wins this November with tea-party support will be a tea-party partisan,” Mr. Inglis said.

Mr. McCarthy, 45 years old, will play a key role in navigating this new landscape. The California lawmaker led the charge to recruit candidates and is racing around the country offering last-minute pep talks and fund-raising, packing protein shakes and bars in his suitcase to keep down his weight. Rep. Peter Sessions of Texas officially coordinates the GOP House campaigns, but his style is to let others take the lead, giving Mr. McCarthy an opening.

In talking to voters, Mr. McCarthy makes much of a youthful stint as owner of a deli called Kevin O’s (his middle name is Owen). But much of his career has been in politics. In college, he was a leader of the California Young Republicans. He was an aide to former Rep. Bill Thomas (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He was elected to the California State Assembly and became minority leader before winning his House seat in 2006.

Should the Republicans recapture the House, Mr. McCarthy is seen as a strong candidate to be the third-ranking House Republican after John Boehner of Ohio and Eric Cantor of Virginia.

In touting the Republican candidates, he talks frequently about Stephen Fincher, a cotton farmer and gospel singer from Frog Jump, Tenn., who has never run for office before. But equally important is Rick Berg, who served in the North Dakota legislature for more than 25 years and may knock off longtime Rep. Earl Pomeroy.

Mr. McCarthy takes the view that a House Republican majority would indeed be a potent force of change. As he sped in a Chevrolet Silverado to campaign events, he contended this season’s GOP candidates are relatively unorthodox, noting that fewer candidates come from state legislatures than in previous elections. “Also, these are not 20-year established people,” he said. “They’ve been serving a couple terms. And some of them are serving part-time.”

Mr. McCarthy conceded state representatives often make suitable candidates. “They will have some name ID and some credibility,” he said.

That kind of resumé is making some Republican backers anxious. At a dinner for Mr. Bruun at Portland’s University Club, a small group of donors sought assurances the new crop would be different from recent Republican majorities, especially on matters of spending.

“The freshman class is going to be bolder than anyone there,” Mr. McCarthy promised to about 15 financial-services executives who had paid $500 for their steak dinner. “They’re going to be like a stampede of horses.”

Upon arriving in Portland, Mr. McCarthy was interrupted by a call from Republican candidate Tom Reed in New York. “Is your opponent showing up?” Mr. McCarthy inquired. “I think I can send you $3,000 more.”

Next, an email arrived from Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who represents a conservative district in Utah. “Oh, no. I need to raise some money,” Mr. Chaffetz wrote sarcastically. “There’s a new poll. I’m only 51 points up.”

Mr. McCarthy’s Northwest swing was an exercise in orthodox party politics. At a country-club fund-raising lunch for Ms. Herrera in Vancouver, Wash., a campaign flyer at the door emphasized the candidate’s government experience. “Senior legislative aide … Worked with legislators of both parties to solve problems.”

Mr. McCarthy’s next stop was Paradigm Foodworks Inc. in Lake Oswego, Ore., to appear with Mr. Bruun, who is challenging Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader. In a press conference touting Mr. Bruun’s endorsement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups, Mr. McCarthy depicted Mr. Bruun as an accomplished legislator.

Last was breakfast for Mr. Cornilles, the first-time candidate who is seeking to oust Rep. David Wu (D., Ore.). In a district where Barack Obama won 61% of the vote, Mr. Cornilles plays down his party affiliation and any association with the tea party.

Said Mr. Cornilles in an interview: “When we focus on the problems facing Oregonians, we discover, ‘Party, shmarty.’”

—Janet Hook, Brody Mullins and Neil King Jr. contributed to this article.

Write to Naftali Bendavid at [email protected]