Pollster Will Quit Reagan, Work for Dole

Richard B. Wirthlin, President Reagan’s personal pollster, has decided to join the presidential campaign of Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), it was learned Tuesday.

He is the third high-level official or adviser of the Reagan Administration to do so in the last month.

Wirthlin, who previously worked for the now-defunct presidential campaign of former Sen. Paul Laxalt (R-Nev.), is expected to announce his decision today at a joint news conference with Dole.

By recruiting Wirthlin and other prominent Reagan personnel, Dole is trying to counter the appearance that his chief rival, Vice President George Bush, is the logical successor to the Reagan legacy. The President has not endorsed any candidate.

Just last week, Labor Secretary William E. Brock III announced that he will step down at the end of the month to manage the Dole campaign. Brock is expected to bring much-needed managerial skill to the campaign as well as a symbolic boost.

Earlier, Dole’s wife, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, resigned as transportation secretary to campaign for her husband. Mrs. Dole, a North Carolina native, has long been viewed as an asset to the Dole campaign in the South.

Wirthlin was one of the chief planners of Reagan’s stunning 1980 victory over then-President Jimmy Carter. He played a role in the President’s reelection in 1984 and has been a private adviser and consultant to the White House over the last seven years.