Word: straws
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Florida's presidential straw poll--the last and most closely watched of a series of informal ballots--selected no delegates to next summer's G.O.P. convention. But Bob Dole, who said he had to win to maintain momentum as the Republican frontrunner, did just that. Phil Gramm managed second, with Lamar Alexander close behind...
Dole's real problem in Iowa is that his core support isn't any deeper than the rigged straw poll revealed. Internal Dole campaign surveys have found that among "likely caucus goers," Gramm and Dole tie with about 26% of the vote. The reason, again, is message. The respondents to Dole's poll were asked if they had been contacted by the various Republican campaigns. Many had. Those reached by the Doleites mostly recalled being asked to contribute money to the campaign. Those contacted by the Gramm forces remembered Gramm's hard-core conservative message. In a contest where activists...
Gramm unexpectedly tied Dole in the Iowa straw poll last Aug. 19. It was a fake contest, because participants had to pay $25 to attend (and therefore to vote), and anyone from anywhere--even outside Iowa--could play. Many did, as Gramm's campaign, especially, bused in hundreds of its faithful from out of state. "I spent $30,000 on the 1980 Iowa straw poll," Dole recalls, "and I came in third. I know all about buying that thing, and I should have bought it this time." What Dole didn't say is that the Doleites didn't want...
...means that Dole's most serious potential challengers will stay out of his way, leaving a gaggle of GOP hopefuls to fight it out among themselves. Kramer says that it's now up to Phil Gramm and Lamar Alexander, who finished second and third respectively in Saturday's Florida straw poll, to challenge Dole. Says Kramer: "Alexander did very well in Florida by organizing well and spending a tremendous amount of money. But he faces real problems in New Hampshire and Iowa. I look for it to be a two-man race between Dole and Gramm after the early primaries...
Alan Keyes was the big surprise in Florida's Republican straw poll on Saturday, taking 266 votes, or 8 percent of the vote, nearly as much support as fellow anti-abortion candidate Pat Buchanan drew. GOP frontrunner Bob Dole won the heat with 1,104 votes, or 33 percent of the vote to Phil Gramm's 26 percent second place showing (869 votes). Lamar Alexander, who garnered a respectable 749 votes, or 22 percent, was quick to claim he's gaining on Dole. Keyes, an African American radio personality and former Reagan Administration official, impressed many delegates with his fiery...