1988 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION : Dukakis, Bentsen to Visit Texas and Stockton Today

As they kick off their general election campaign, Democratic nominee Michael S. Dukakis and running mate Lloyd Bentsen will head for Texas and California today, hoping to generate excitement and attention in two states that will be keys to their chances of winning the general election this fall.

The candidates will campaign in McAllen, Tex., then travel to Houston before arriving tonight in Stockton. On Saturday morning, they will attend a large rally in Modesto before taking their campaign to the Midwest.

Site of Early Success

For both Dukakis and Bentsen, McAllen will be something of a homecoming. Bentsen grew up in Mission, just up the road from McAllen in the heart of Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. For Dukakis, the city was the site of one of his most important early campaign successes.

Over a year ago, when Dukakis rated merely an asterisk in national polls, his staff scheduled a trip to Texas, stopping in McAllen. There, he was greeted by a crowd of 1,300 waiting in the hot Texas sun, an event that established him early as a credible candidate in the Texas primary and underlined his appeal to the Southwest’s Latino voters.

Won Texas Primary

When Texas voted, as part of the huge March 8 Super Tuesday primary package, Dukakis carried the state because of heavy support in South Texas. Along with his victory in Florida, winning in Texas established Dukakis as the Democratic front-runner.

The trip to Modesto for a rally in a city park gives the campaign an early start in its push to win California.

The trip “is a signal . . . that they intend to target California,” and the fact that they are going to Modesto indicates “that they will go after it in the Central Valley, which has always been the swing area” in the state, Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Merced) said.

Voters in the relatively conservative area, which elects Democrats to Congress but went heavily for Ronald Reagan in the last two elections, are representative of the “Reagan Democrats” that Dukakis and Bentsen hope to bring back to the party.

“We want to be ahead in Texas, California and New York,” Coelho said. “If we’re ahead in all three, there’s no way Bush can win.”

So far, most polls show Dukakis ahead in two of those states--California and New York--and tied with Bush in Texas.