Union Straw Poll Favors Simon
Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) is the early presidential choice of Northwest union leaders, who favored the liberal senator by a 2-1 margin in two straw polls held in Boise.
Ballots were cast twice Thursday night, both before and after the group of 40 representatives from the American Federation of Government Employees watched videotaped segments from 13 declared and prospective candidates. Simon received 10 of the 31 votes before the tape was shown and 20 of 40 cast afterward.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson placed second in both votes, with five votes on the first ballot and seven on the second. After receiving four votes in the first ballot, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) received no votes after the tape was shown. And Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) slipped from four votes to one.
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