Linda Chavez to Enter Senate Race in Maryland

Linda Chavez, one of the Reagan Administration’s most prominent women and Latinos, said Thursday that she will resign from her White House post Monday to run for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate in Maryland with the “blessing” of President Reagan.

Chavez, 38, a former Democrat who became a leading Administration spokeswoman against racial hiring quotas, confirmed in an interview that she will announce her candidacy next week after a formal resignation as director of the White House public liaison office, which handles relations with special interest groups.

One official said that Chavez would be replaced by another woman.

White House spokesman Larry Speakes said that Reagan would wait to see how the primary race develops before deciding whether to endorse Chavez but that “she goes with his blessing.”

Chavez--who will face Richard Sullivan, a Baltimore business executive, and Thomas Mooney, a Maryland state legislator and recent GOP convert, in a primary--would not say that Reagan had asked her to run. “It is fair to say that a lot of friends here (in the White House) are giving me encouragement.”

There was no word on a likely successor to Chavez, who has held the position for less than a year. She said one of her male deputies, Linas Kojelis, would be acting head of the office until a successor is chosen.

Chavez, a Democrat until last year and a former aide to liberal Rep. Don Edwards (D-San Jose), will seek the seat being vacated by Sen. Charles McC. Mathias Jr., who is retiring.

The race for the Democratic nomination is crowded--with the candidates including Rep. Barbara A. Mikulski and, probably, Gov. Harry Hughes--and Maryland Republicans have been seeking a prominent name to carry their banner in a state where Democrats have a 3-1 registration edge and usually win statewide offices.

In private polls, Mikulski has a large lead.

Chavez is from New Mexico, the daughter of a descendant of Spanish settlers and an Anglo mother. She became a Republican on joining the White House staff last April.