Supporters of D.C. voting rights are shifting tactics after their signature bill failed to move in the Senate and will pressure senators in their home states instead.

DC Vote, the nonprofit dedicated to giving the District a full voting member in Congress, is targeting eight senators in the hope they will vote for the bill when it comes up again: John Sununu (R-N.H.), John Warner (R-Va.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.).

The D.C. voting rights bill suffered a major setback Sept. 18, when due to GOP opposition it fell three votes shy of the 60 necessary to limit debate in the Senate.

DC Vote plans on hosting rallies and press conferences, meeting with newspaper editorial boards and encouraging constituents to write letters and phone their senators. The coalition, which has a $1.8 million budget, is also considering ad buys.

“We have the funds for an aggressive educational campaign,” said DC Vote executive director Ilir Zherka.

The plan represents a change in strategy, from focusing efforts in Washington toward applying pressure from within the states, explained Zherka.

The bill’s supporters are targeting senators who were “identified as people in the best position to join this fight,” said Kevin Kiger, DC Vote communications director.

Led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), many Republicans said they opposed the bill because they thought it was unconstitutional. The Constitution limits membership in the House to the states and thus excludes the District.

McConnell encouraged citizens to amend the Constitution to gain the D.C. seat.

“If the residents of the District are to get a member for themselves, there remains a remedy: Amend the Constitution,” he said in a floor statement the day before the cloture vote.

Warner and McCain agreed with McConnell on the constitutionality issue.

“It’s as if senators were waving in the wind,” Warner said. “I’m an old target — that’s not going to work on me.”

Byrd backs full voting rights for D.C. in the House and Senate, but he also has constitutional concerns with the bill.

He did not vote on Sept. 18 but favors a resolution that would amend the Constitution.

Baucus voted against cloture, believing expanding the size of the House would “dilute” Montana’s influence in Congress.

“It’s also a slippery slope,” Baucus said in a statement before the cloture vote. “If we expand the playing field now, then who is to say where it will stop?”

A spokeswoman with Smith’s office had no comment. Calls to the offices of Sununu, Hagel, Cochran and Baucus were not returned.

Norton said supporters believed they had 61 votes going into the cloture vote, but they “disappeared at the last minute” because of pressure from GOP leadership.

Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), one of the eight Republicans who voted for cloture, said he doesn’t believe the new strategy will be effective.

“In the life of a senator there are many people who disagree with you,” he said. “It’s not cyanide, it’s not fatal.”

DC Vote will rally support from many of the coalition’s 70 member organizations, which will unite around a single goal: getting another vote to allow debate.

“We have an opportunity to really engage their members, so we’re talking about millions of people around the country,” Zherka said. “Let it come up. Let it be voted on, but don’t block it.”

Norton has said she expects the bill to come up for a vote during this Congress, while Zherka is less certain. “I don’t know what the right timing is on it. I think it will have to do with how comfortable we are,” he said.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a co-sponsor of the bill, said the measure deserved to pass and believes the campaign could only have a positive effect. The legislation would have also given the conservative state of Utah an additional House seat.

“I personally believe that one-on-one time is important,” he said, referring to DC Vote’s new campaign.

The bill’s supporters said they will continue to push for passage, even though President Bush’s advisers, citing the constitutionality question, have urged a veto if the measure reaches his desk.

With a packed legislative calendar, the Senate is not expected to vote on the measure again this year. The office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) did not respond by press time on whether another cloture vote was planned before Congress adjourns for the year.