Dole Will Skip Fund-Raiser, GOP Affirms

Citing conflicts with the first presidential debate, Republican nominee Bob Dole canceled his appearance at a $10,000-a-couple dinner in Orange County set for Monday, top GOP officials announced Thursday.

Instead of a promised personal evening with Dole, GOP donors will dine with Elizabeth Dole, his wife, and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp and his wife, Joanne. The Republican standard-bearer will appear via electronic hookup, said John Herrington, chairman of the California Republican Party.

Even though Dole campaign aides in Washington were saying Wednesday it was unlikely Dole would attend the dinner at the Hyatt Regency, event organizers in California continued to maintain that Dole would be present at the $1-million fund-raiser for the state GOP’s Victory ’96 drive, the coordinated campaign to elect Republicans to state and national offices.

The dinner, with attendance limited to 200 people, is being run by developer George Argyros, who heads Victory ’96. The 500 invitations sent by Argyros on Sept. 16 contained a personal appeal to fellow Republicans and stated: This is “our one opportunity prior to November to privately meet with Senator Dole.”

Argyros, who was returning Thursday from a business trip to the Midwest, could not be reached for comment.

Herrington said he learned “for sure” Thursday morning that Dole would not attend.

“While we had heard rumblings, I was not prepared to confirm it” on Wednesday, he said.

Ken Khachigian, director of the Dole California campaign, said in a release issued Thursday afternoon that Dole agreed in early September to come to the dinner, but “the unforeseen rescheduling of the debate--and the importance it holds for the presidential campaign--caused this change of plans.”

Rejecting any inference that Dole is not committed to a full-bore campaign in California, Khachigian said, “There is no other reason for this change.”

The first debate is Oct. 6 in Hartford, Conn. There had been discussions about holding three debates, with the first Sept. 25 and the second Oct. 9, Khachigian said, and the trip west was planned around that.

Instead, Dole will be staying on the East Coast, using “the interim time for debate preparation,” the statement said.

Herrington acknowledged that the donors would be disappointed.

“Certainly people are,” he said. “We would always love to see Bob Dole. But everyone understands how important the debate is. No one will be upset with that excuse. To win the debate, these folks would probably write another check. This isn’t about having him there.”

More than 60 couples have already signed on for the evening, Herrington said.

Reports that Dole would remain on the East Coast did not dampen enthusiasm for the event, said Bruce Nestande, a political consultant who works with Argyros. People who had heard of Dole’s decision called Argyros’ office Thursday. Some wanted to sign up for the event, he said, and no one has asked for their money back.

“Without Dole, we will be adjusting the schedule for the evening,” he said.

Doy Henley, who has bought tickets to the event, predicted that both Bob and Elizabeth Dole would attend the dinner.

“I just believe that,” said Henley, who is a friend of Argyros. “A video hookup? These people are putting out a lot of money. . . . But his attending is not a make-or-break thing. It all milks down to the candidate deciding what his priorities are--and who knows?

“I look for Sen. Dole to be there, the Kemps to be there. This is going to be really nice, and intimate and very successful.”

Herrington, who is also attending, said the donors would be well treated. “To make it up, we will try to put together an event, probably down at the debate in San Diego, to give these folks a two-fer.”