Perceived threats of retribution and rumors of private deals have begun to pepper the increasingly tense race for House speaker — a position that is not even vacant yet.

When — or if — President Bush nominates Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada, the race to claim his gavel likely will become even more intense.

Wilkins has refused to discuss what he calls rumors of his pending departure.

But while there has been no on-the-record confirmation that Wilkins is going to be named envoy to our neighbor to the north, the four candidates to succeed him are operating under the assumption that it is just a matter of time before that happens.

Four Republicans are jockeying for the votes of the other 119 members of the House:

• Doug Smith of Spartanburg, House speaker pro tem

• Bobby Harrell of Charleston, Ways and Means Committee chairman

• Jim Harrison of Columbia, Judiciary Committee chairman

• Harry Cato of Greenville, Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee chairman.

House Democrats, with 50 members compared with 75 Republicans, cannot realistically expect to elevate one of their own to the speaker’s chair, but they could have a significant impact on which Republican wins.

All four Republicans expressed optimism for their campaigns.

“I feel good about it,” Smith said. “I feel really good.”

“I feel good about it,” Harrell said.

“I’ve tried to be open, fair and inclusive,” Harrison said.

“I feel good about where I am,” Cato said.

But several House members, and a few of the candidates, believe the race eventually will come down to two finalists: Harrison and Harrell.

While no official vote count has been taken, several lawmakers believe Harrison and Harrell are nearly tied. If the vote goes to a second or third ballot, some say Harrison might have an edge.

“Until Harry and Doug are out, it’s all spread out,” said Rep. Dan Tripp, R-Greenville. “Once it’s a two-man race, Harrison is in the lead.”

Harrison said, “It will develop into a two-man race, with Bobby and I.”

But Harrell was quick not to make assumptions. “There are four guys in the race.”

Harrell was involved in a dispute with a fellow Republican last week that led him to explain a perceived threat of retribution.

Rep. Gloria Haskins, R-Greenville, said Harrell asked for her vote last week and she explained she was committed to Harrison.

“He said, ‘I understand. You do whatever you have to do. But I’d appreciate your support, and by the way, are you going to run for re-election next year?’” Haskins said. “And I said, ‘Oh yes, I am.’”

Haskins said she took Harrell’s question — “Are you going to run for re-election?” — to be a threat.

In the language of politics, such a query could be construed as: “If you don’t support me, I’ll work against you in the next election.”

That’s how Haskins took it.

“He was very raw, yeah,” Haskins said. “I know the language around here. I was stunned. I was hurt.”

Harrell said he absolutely did not threaten Haskins, whom he called a friend. Haskins’ late husband, former Speaker Pro Tem Terry Haskins, was also a friend, Harrell said.

Harrell said Haskins is getting remarried soon and he wondered whether she would choose to run again.

“Oh Lord, then I need to call her,” Harrell said when told of Haskins’ feelings. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Gloria.”

Harrell did call Haskins. Afterward, Harrell said, “She understands; it’s resolved now.”

The next day, though, when asked about her follow-up conversation with Harrell, Haskins said, “I guess I’ll just have to take his word” that he was not threatening her.

Harrell’s wife, Cathy, said Friday that she had asked her husband to inquire whether Haskins planned to run again.

Cathy Harrell said she and Haskins spoke recently about Haskins’ plans to remarry, “but I forgot to ask if she was going to run again,” Cathy Harrell said.

“It’s my fault Bobby asked her that,” Cathy Harrell said.

Harrison has had his own problems with negative publicity the past few days. He came under fire last week over the brewing controversy regarding criminal domestic violence legislation and the snickering in Harrison’s committee over the bill.

While no one knows whether Harrison’s involvement in the issue hurts his bid for speaker, it is unlikely to help.

Harrison does not think the flap will hurt him because his colleagues know the personalities involved and that he has tried to work through the problem.

Smith, too, faces the prospect of unhappy colleagues over his strong support for the tuition tax credit bill, called Put Parents in Charge by supporters. Some House members do not want to have to vote on the bill, but Smith keeps pushing it.

Cato has not been involved in much controversy the past several years. He was, however, a major backer of the Confederate flag and tried in 2000 to block the compromise bill that eventually led to the banner’s being lowered from the State House dome.

Harrell said rumors of threats and private deals are making the rounds of the House.

“I’ve heard that I’ve promised the Ways and Means chairmanship to four different people, that I’m going to expand the committee to 40 slots,” Harrell said.

There are 25 positions on the budget-writing committee, considered the most influential and prestigious of House committees because of its oversight of state spending.

Harrell said he has made no such promises.

That would be a bad idea, others said.

“I don’t know of any specific deals,” Cato said. “I do know if any of the candidates were making deals, I’d be seriously disappointed.”

House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Charleston, said he and Wilkins worked to prevent deal-making.

“It’s the quickest way for one of the candidates to undermine themselves,” Merrill said.

A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford said the governor is not backing any candidate.

“That is the prerogative of the members of the House to determine who their speaker is,” Sanford communications director Chris Drummond said.

Staff writers Jennifer Talhelm and Jeff Stensland contributed to this report. Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.