The White House has a message for would-be Republican challengers to Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell: No messy primary.

The White House has made Cantwell among their top targets in the 2006 midterm elections, and has told some candidates it wants to avoid an expensive intraparty battle.

That means that there likely will be no Republican primary in Washington state for the three men who are considering running against Cantwell — former U.S. Rep. Rick White, state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance and Mike McGavick, the chairman and CEO of Safeco.

However, there will be a primary of sorts — in Washington, D.C. And it's already begun.

Vance and White visited D.C. recently to meet with Bush administration officials and Republican campaign gurus to gauge interest in their potential candidacies and set the groundwork for fund raising.

This is being done, though, with the understanding that the first shot would go to Dino Rossi in the event the GOP fails in its lawsuit to overturn the November gubernatorial race Rossi lost to Democrat Christine Gregoire.

Both Vance and White said the White House has expressed its interest in a primary-free election against Cantwell. Cantwell, who is in her first Senate term, has been named one of the most vulnerable Democrats by numerous campaign journals and political consultants.

The White House will not send either the president or vice president to the state for a "nasty" primary, Vance said.

"The White House and national party don't determine who gets the nod," Vance added, but for a race that is crucial to Bush's strategy for increasing GOP seats in Congress, "The national party and the people in D.C. will have a role."

Added White: "We [Vance, White and McGavick] have all talked and agree there can't be a primary."

The White House played a similar role in recruiting candidates and trying to avoid primaries in the 2004 races for governor and U.S. Senate.

Mike McGavick was a Gorton aide.

Bush lobbied former U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn to run against U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. When Dunn declined, the president helped encourage U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Spokane, to run.

He faced token opposition in the primary. But the party apparatus, with the blessing of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political strategist, was clearly behind Nethercutt.

Intent signaled

White — who represented the 1st District, which includes Seattle's northern suburbs, from 1994 to 1998 — says the White House emphasized its intent to target Cantwell when he visited last month.

He met with White House political officials and with the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. He has also been dining with key Washington state Republicans and potential donors in D.C., though he declined to name them.

In his recent visit to the White House, Vance said it was clear that Rove considers the Cantwell race a top priority. Vance also met with Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.

However, Vance downplayed his interest in running, noting that in talks at the White House and with Dole, who is chairwoman of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, "ninety percent of the discussion was about the ongoing Washington state governor's race."

Meanwhile, all three are waiting on Dino Rossi.

"One thing that is crystal clear to all of us, and to the White House, is that it is up to Dino Rossi to decide first what he wants to do," said Vance.

McGavick has not yet visited the White House. His spokesman, Paul Hollie, says he is concentrating on improving Safeco's bottom line. McGavick served as chief of staff to former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash.

But Hollie confirmed that, for now, McGavick is not saying no to a potential run.

None of the three is ready to declare for the race yet. "This is a big decision for somebody," White said.

Until recently, White was CEO of TechNet, a Silicon Valley trade association whose members include Microsoft, Genentech and Google. He has agreed to stay on as a consultant with TechNet for a few months to assist its new leader.

This means that of the three potential candidates, White is most able to turn to full-time campaigning.

"I've been overwhelmed with how much positive feeling is out there," he said. "There's a lot of support for me to run," he said.

White won his U.S. House seat in 1994 by defeating Cantwell, who served one term for the 1st District. White later lost to Democrat Jay Inslee in 1998.

White hopes to garner support from some GOP senators, including his friend, U.S. Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who came into Congress with him in the so-called "Republican Revolution" of 1994, when the GOP took control of the House.

Meanwhile, Vance noted that there will be lawsuits challenging the top-two primary system recently approved by voters in Washington state.

That system allows the top two candidates in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, to advance to the general election.

"We intend to nominate and name our candidate on the floor of the convention" in summer 2006, Vance said.

Cantwell, who defeated incumbent Gorton by a narrow margin in 2000, has already raised a significant amount of money for next year's race.

She raised $1,937,000 in the first quarter of 2005, according to the FEC report released Friday, and has $1,852,000 cash on hand.

Alicia Mundy: 202-662-7457 or amundy@seattletimes.com