By Jonathan Allen, CQ Staff

If there was a Republican lawmaker who might be open to backing a left-of-center mortgage-assistance proposal such as the one unveiled by GOP presidential nominee John McCain at an Oct. 7 debate, it might be Ohio Republican Steve Chabot .

As the home foreclosure crisis deepened last year, Chabot hammered out a deal with liberal Democratic Judiciary Chairman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan on legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms of subprime and non-traditional mortgages.

Chabot was the only Republican among 85 cosponsors of the bill, originally sponsored by North Carolina Democrat Brad Miller , and the only GOP lawmaker to vote for its approval at the committee level before it died for lack of broader support. Chabot’s Cincinnati-based 1st District has been hit hard by foreclosures, and he is among the most politically vulnerable incumbents in the nation.

So perhaps — just maybe — he could have provided a GOP market for McCain’s proposal, under which the government would buy troubled mortgages at face value, renegotiate the terms of the loan for the borrower, and take the loss of the difference between the original loan and the new one.

No sale, says Chabot.

“I’m strongly opposed to using taxpayer dollars to reward the reckless actions of many in the financial industry, which included predatory lending practices,” he said in a statement e-mailed by his campaign spokeswoman.

In Chillicothe, two hours east of Cincinnati, Democratic nominee Barack Obama delivered much the same message about McCain’s plan on Friday morning: “It punishes taxpayers, rewards banks, and won’t solve our housing crisis.”

National GOP officials contacted by CQ Politics said they could not name any Republican candidates who had voiced support for McCain’s approach.

Campaign aides to several Republican lawmakers and challengers across the country did not return calls seeking comment on the McCain proposal before deadline.

There’s not likely to be much backing on the other side at the congressional level, either.

“I don’t think Democrats are going to support a [plan] that hands taxpayer money over directly to the banks, and that’s what the McCain proposal would do,” said Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen , chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

However, at least one Democratic House candidate, Andrea Miller in Virginia’s 4th District, has lauded McCain’s aim.

“I think I disagree with John McCain on nearly all major policy issues: health care, taxes, the war,” Miller, who is a longshot to win, told the Daily Press in Virginia. “We kind of accidentally agree on helping homeowners on the bailout. I would have helped the homeowners instead of Wall Street.”