Expectations
Since resigning
from her
position as president of the American Red Cross on Jan. 4, 1999 and
announcing
the formation of an exploratory committee in Des Moines on March 10,
Elizabeth
Dole's star had appeared to wane considerably. Her campaign
insisted
she was bringing new people into the process. The straw poll would show
whether there was anything to that claim and whether her bid to "make
history"
was making headway.
|
|
(August
11, 1999) Elizabeth
Dole did many
events in the Des Moines area in the days preceeding the straw
poll,
Here she arrives to speak to employees at Anderson-Erickson
dairy.
The Washington Post's David Broder heads to the event, as does
communications
director Ari Fleischer. |
(August 13,
1999) Dole also stopped
in at campaign headquarters to make some calls. |
Outcome:
Third--3,410
Votes (14.4%)
Dole did
surprisingly well,
finishing third. Her campaign was quick to speak of an "Iowa
straw
poll win" based on the fact that Bush and Forbes had far outspent
her.
Dole pollster
Linda DiVall
explained the results thusly:
We're very
excited about
Mrs. Dole's third place finish. For one thing it shows that she's
got on-ground support and outperformed Lamar Alexander and Pat
Buchanan,
who have been proven vote performers in the state. The turnout
was
phenomenal--it's about one quarter of what the turnout was in '96 for
the
caucuses--and the fact that was able to get out the vote that she
did.
She didn't have the entertainment; she didn't have the water slides and
the mountains that Forbes did. We were outspent 10 to 1 by Forbes
and Bush each. And so it shows that her message and her persona
are
what people are attracted to and it gives us a terrific basis to build
upon over the next five months building into the caucuses.
The
official statement:
August 14,
1999
Statement by
Elizabeth Dole
on Results of Iowa Straw Poll
“What a great
victory tonight.
Despite being outspent by more than $2 million, we finished close to
second
place. Together we proved that people, ideas, and principles do matter.
No matter how much money my opponents spent, our showing proves that
when
you look people in the eye and say what you mean and mean what you say,
they respond.
“I’m please
and humbled by
tonight’s vote. My message of getting the IRS out our pockets,
restoring
order and discipline to our classrooms, keeping drugs away from our
children,
and beefing up our national defenses struck a chord with Iowans.
“We reached
traditional Republicans
and we brought a huge number of new people into the process. About 50
percent
of the people who voted for me are new to the process, and it appears
that
two-thirds of our voters are women. That’s good for me, good for the
party,
and good for the country.
“This is
going to become
a two-person race and I’m leaving tomorrow for New Hampshire to keep
spreading
my message.”