Byrd to Vacate Top Senate Job; 3 Seek His Post

WASHINGTON —  Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as Senate majority leader at the end of the year, opening up a three-way race to succeed him in the key Democratic post.

Only minutes after Byrd made his decision known during a closed-door caucus of Senate Democrats, three other Democrats--Sens. Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, George J. Mitchell of Maine and J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana--declared their intentions to run for majority leader.

The competition to succeed Byrd likely will hinge on the question of which of the three senators would be the most attractive spokesman for the Democratic Party and which one can make the Senate operate more efficiently. By all accounts, the race is still wide open and none of the three candidates yet has a substantial edge.

Master of Procedure

Byrd, 70, who has served as the Democratic leader since 1977, is viewed by his colleagues as an old-style senator and master of parliamentary procedure who was willing to work tirelessly to protect the interests of his fellow Democrats, but who lacked the polish necessary to be an effective spokesman for his party in the television age.

Mitchell, 54, a moderate to liberal Democrat who distinguished himself in the eyes of other members of his party as an articulate critic of the Reagan Administration last year during the Iran-Contra hearings, is seen as the candidate of those who want the majority leader to be a polished spokesman for the party. By contrast, Inouye and Johnston are viewed as Senate insiders who--like Byrd--would focus more of their attention on the internal workings of the Senate.

As chairman of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee in 1986, Mitchell made many friends among his Senate colleagues by helping to engineer the election victory in which the Democrats regained majority control of the Senate. Nevertheless, he has some opposition among industrial state senators who fear that as leader he would press his strong opposition to acid rain.

Wants Rules Changes

A conservative, Johnston, 55, who last year unsuccessfully challenged Byrd for the job, is trying to appeal to the growing desire of many senators for more efficient Senate operations. He told a news conference shortly after Byrd’s announcement that he would implement many reforms of the Senate rules that have been suggested.

“Sen. Mitchell is a very able spokesman,” Johnston said. “It is not his fault that he has less experience in the Senate.” He added that majority leader “is not the job of an orator.” Johnston has 16 years of service in the Senate, compared to Mitchell’s eight and Inouye’s 25.

Inouye, 63, who first gained prominence by serving on the Senate Watergate Committee in the early 1970s and last year chaired the Senate Iran-Contra investigation, told reporters that his chances of succeeding Byrd are “good.” A relatively conservative Democrat who lost his right arm in combat in World War II, Inouye is known as less aggressive than Mitchell and Johnston and as one who also normally shuns the limelight.

Although Inouye has long been viewed as heir apparent to Byrd, he lost some support among his Democratic colleagues last year because he failed to prevent former White House aide Oliver L. North from using the Iran-Contra hearings as a platform to express strong support for the Nicaraguan resistance forces. Inouye also was embarrassed by the unfavorable media coverage of a special $8-million appropriation that he quietly slipped into the fiscal 1988 budget last December to fund schools for North African Jews in France.

No Impact on Cranston Seen

Byrd’s decision to step down as majority leader apparently will have no impact on the anticipated reelection of Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) as assistant majority leader. No other Democrat has announced plans to oppose Cranston.

Cranston issued a statement noting that he proved his skill as the party’s chief vote-counter last year when he forecast the defeat of the nomination of Judge Robert H. Bork to serve on the Supreme Court. “It takes hard, steady work, and I love it,” he said.

By his own account, Byrd chose to step down even though he was assured of being reelected as majority leader. But his retirement from the leadership does not mean that he will be leaving the Senate. Instead, he intends to run for reelection in November and expects to chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and serve as Senate president pro tempore in the 101st Congress.

Byrd said he decided to step down primarily because he believes he can help his home state of West Virginia better as chairman of the Appropriations panel, which has the final say each year over how federal dollars will be spent.

Overcomes Many Obstacles

Known for his full head of bluish-white hair and his courtly manner, Byrd overcame many obstacles to reach the Senate and become its Democratic leader. He was orphaned at a young age, raised in poverty by an aunt and uncle and worked for 12 years at a variety of menial jobs after graduating from high school before he could afford to go to college.

It was Byrd’s skill as a country fiddle player that helped to elect him to his first office in the state Legislature in 1946. He was elected to the Senate in 1958 after three terms in the House. In 1971, Byrd ousted Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) as assistant majority leader and later became a loyal lieutenant to then-Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, whom he succeeded.