DATE: Wednesday, June 11, 1997              TAG: 9706110441

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RICHARD L. BERKE, THE NEW YORK TIMES 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   80 lines

EX-LAWMAKER WILL LEAD CHRISTIAN COALITION

Former Rep. Randy Tate, who was elected to Congress in the Republican wave of 1994 and ousted just two years later, will succeed Ralph Reed as executive director of the Chesapeake-based Christian Coalition, people close to the selection said on Tuesday.

Tate's selection, to be announced today by Coalition leader Pat Robertson at a news conference in the Capitol, ended weeks of speculation over how the coalition would move forward without the leadership of Reed, who is credited with transforming the organization into one of the most potent forces in Republican politics. Reed, who is 35 and has been executive director for eight years, has set out to start his own political consulting firm.

As did Reed, Tate, who is 31, will put a youthful, amiable face on the coalition that was founded after the 1988 election by Robertson, the television evangelist who serves as its president.

But Tate was elected a state legislator at the age of 23, while Reed is a streetwise political operator who sometimes seemed more passionate about politics than the issues advanced by the coalition.

The selection of Tate, a native of Puyallup, in western Washington, and a graduate of Western Washington University, was welcomed by many religious conservatives. He was an alternate delegate for Robertson in the 1988 national Republican convention, and, more recently, was tagged by the state Democratic chairman as ``the poster boy of the radical right.''

Tate was known as a vigorous advocate of conservative positions, and for being one of the closest allies of House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the Class of 1994. That association could have hurt him; though he raised a hefty sum of more than $1.5 million, he was targeted for defeat by labor and Democratic groups and lost decisively to Adam Smith, a Democratic state senator.

``Nobody will top Ralph Reed but Randy will come as close as anybody could,'' said Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster who has worked with Tate. ``Randy Tate was the hardest-working, most articulate, quickest-learning freshman in a very bright class. He had an absolutely uncanny ability to grasp very difficult complex issues and communicate them in a very simplified, nonpolitical way.''

The stewardship of the coalition is crucial not only because Reed was so successful but also because Robertson and others do not want the organization to lose its clout as social and moral issues are increasingly in the forefront - and as the elections approach in 1998 and 2000. The coalition's decision to announce Tate's selection in the Capitol demonstrates the organization's close ties to the Republican leadership in Congress.

But the organization, which claims 1.9 million members, could face rough times. In a federal suit filed last July, the Federal Election Commission accused the coalition of violating its tax exempt status by improperly spending thousands of dollars to promote Republican candidates. There has also been unrest among members about how to chart the group's future priorities.

William Bennett, a prominent religious conservative, questioned whether some Republicans were overstating the role of the executive director's post. ``There are two readings I get,'' he said. ``One is that Ralph Reed is a genius. The other is that this organization is very strong and its greatest strength is in its state chapters.''

In his term in Congress, Tate was an unwavering supporter of the Christian Coalition and of the National Rifle Association. Among other issues, he favored repealing the federal prohibition on assault weapons, supported a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning and backed legislation against abortion. He also supported legislation that would make English the official language of the United States.

People close to Tate emphasized that he is in an enviable position because he is not beholden to the Republican leaders in Congress because of his brief tenure and because they did not do more to rescue him from defeat. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

Randy Tate served one term in the U.S. House as Washington state's

Republican delegate.

THE COALITION

The Christian Coalition, an 8-year-old organization that has

mobilized conservatives to play a major role in Republican politics,

is based in Chesapeake. It claims 1.9 million members and has a

network of 2,000 local chapters in 50 states. KEYWORDS: CHRISTIAN COALITION

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