Gramm Whips Dole in GOP Women’s Group Straw Poll

Doing its part to help shape the field of presidential candidates, the National Federation for Republican Women gave Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas a solid vote of confidence Sunday in a straw poll of delegates at the group’s convention.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas, the GOP presidential front-runner, was mildly rebuked by the organization for skipping the meeting where five of his rivals spoke at a candidates forum.

Dole’s punishment was a third-place finish in the straw poll, one vote behind former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander. Both Dole and Alexander received less than half the 423 votes received by Gramm.

“I think the fact that Sen. Dole was not here made a difference,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), who gave a luncheon address to about 2,200 conventioneers. “I think it was a very forceful poll for Sen. Gramm. It shows that he values Republican women.”

Dole’s campaign responded by dismissing the credibility of straw polls as indicators of presidential support.

“These results demonstrate precisely why this campaign doesn’t take straw polls very seriously,” said Dole spokesman Nelson Warfield. “Bob Dole has probably spoken at more NFRW meetings than any candidate in history, but he couldn’t make it this time. . . . While they are campaigning for straw votes in New Mexico, we are campaigning for real votes in New Hampshire.”

Gramm won 35% of the 1,198 votes cast. He was followed by Alexander and Dole with about 17% each. California Gov. Pete Wilson finished in fourth place with 15%.

The vote was also considered a healthy victory for Alexander, who has tried to portray his campaign as the anti-Washington alternative to Gramm and Dole.

Wilson, who has also sought to contrast his campaign with those of Dole and Gramm, was rated among the leading candidates in the race because he scored nearly twice as many votes as the fifth-place finisher, Alan Keyes.

Keyes, with 8% of the vote, was followed by Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana (5%), former conservative commentator Patrick J. Buchanan (2%), Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania (1%) and Rep. Robert K. Dornan of Garden Grove with three votes.

Besides Dole, Buchanan, Specter and Dornan also did not speak at the candidates forum.