THE SHORT LIST

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 5:27 PM

Rep. Salazar Says He's On Agriculture List

By JERRY HAGSTROM, CongressDaily

President-elect Barack Obama is considering nominating Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., for Agriculture secretary, according to a statement from Salazar.

In response to a request for comment from the Denver Post today, Salazar, 55, issued a statement confirming that he is under consideration. "I am humbled that I may be under consideration as a possible nominee for Secretary of Agriculture," Salazar said. "Should President-elect Obama honor me with a nomination to Agriculture, I would certainly consider it. However, at this time, I am continuing my work on behalf of my constituents in the Third Congressional District and preparing for the many difficult challenges facing the 111th Congress."

Salazar told the Denver Post that he had talked to the Obama transition team but had not been interviewed. The newspaper reported that he also said, "I've lived agriculture and I sleep agriculture. I certainly want to make sure that this country continues to be able to produce a safe food supply. It would be a sad day in America if... we ever have to depend on other countries to produce our food."

If nominated and confirmed, Salazar would be the first Hispanic Agriculture secretary. His brother, Ken Salazar, is a U.S. senator from Colorado.

A potato seed farmer and cattle rancher on Colorado's Western Slope, Salazar in 2004 won an open seat in a district that had been held by Republican Scott McInnis for six terms. Parts of the district have been occupied by Spanish-speaking people for 350 years, but it also includes the city of Pueblo and the ski resort town of Vail.

Salazar serves on the House Agriculture Committee and played a role in the 2008 farm bill by insisting on more aid for fruit and vegetable growers and for renewable fuels research. During the farm bill debate, he told a National Farmers Union audience that the bill had to be written on a bipartisan basis because "there are too few of us to divide ourselves along partisan lines and partisan bickering."

A Republican commodity lobbyist said today that Salazar "would be incredible," a "great pick." The lobbyist added that Salazar is "respected on both sides of the aisle, and fair."

Meanwhile, sources close to Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said she is not interested in the Agriculture post. Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who has been frequently mentioned as a likely secretary, last week told the Des Moines Register that the Obama transition team had not contacted him about the Agriculture position or any other in the administration.

Subscribers can read Salazar's full profile in the Almanac of American Politics.