Bradley’s Wooing of Iowa Voters May Be Paying Off

Presidential contender Bill Bradley is fighting hard in this key Midwestern state, investing significant time, staff and money--even though it’s a race his camp acknowledges he can’t win.

“We’re trying to fight off the tanks,” said Dan Lucas, Bradley’s campaign manager in Iowa. “I don’t think we’re going to win. But I think it’s very important for us to do well. We’re competing for every vote we can.”

Bradley’s rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Vice President Al Gore, has had years to organize in Iowa and has the endorsements of almost every union in the state. Undaunted, Bradley is fervently wooing Iowa voters, even going after labor votes.

At best, perhaps 150,000 people are expected to turn out for the Democratic caucuses Jan. 24, but if Bradley gets a big share of the vote, many analysts believe he’ll gain a crucial bounce for the Feb. 1 New Hampshire primary and the flurry of elections that follow in March. If he loses badly in Iowa, experts think it’s unlikely he can recover enough steam to win the Democratic nomination.

It’s another reminder of how the unusually brisk pace of Campaign 2000 has made Iowa an even more important stop along the road to the White House.

“A small state like Iowa, where you can make an impression with face-to-face campaigning, is the place where an underdog candidate like Bradley has to make a showing,” said Cary Covington, a political science professor at the University of Iowa.

Although Gore has the backing of the state Democratic leadership, including Sen. Tom Harkin, the Bradley campaign is relying on an extensive network of volunteers to get its message out. So far, his campaign has recruited more than 1,000 precinct captains and set up field organizations in all 99 counties.

In addition, Bradley ads will be on TV every day in Iowa during the month before the caucus, aides say. By mid-December, the campaign had already spent $600,000 on television ads in the state and plans to spend up to $800,000 more.

Bradley is making his 27th visit to the farmland state this week and plans to stump around Iowa most of January. The campaign also hopes to bring in 1,000 volunteers from New Jersey and other parts of the country that month. So far, at least 400 have signed up for Iowa duty, ready to walk door-to-door and work the phones.

Many political watchers say Bradley’s efforts are sparking interest. The Heartland Poll, released Monday by University of Iowa’s Social Science Institute, showed that Gore’s support among likely Democratic caucus-goers dropped from 61% to 48% in December, whereas Bradley’s support jumped from 19% to 27%.

And the Gore campaign is taking its opponent seriously.

“Al Gore has tremendous support here,” said Steve Hildebrand, Gore’s state director. “We feel we started out significantly ahead of them. But at this point, it looks like [Bradley] will outspend Al Gore in Iowa.

“I’m always nervous,” he added. “Two-person races between two significant candidates are never easy.”

Although many analysts believe Bradley appeals most to Iowa Democrats disenchanted with the Clinton-Gore administration, the former senator from New Jersey is also courting core members of the party, such as union members.

He faces an uphill battle. The Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO--which represents about half of the 120,000 union members in the state--is coordinating a campaign to get voters out for Gore. Among the unions endorsing Gore in Iowa are the powerful United Auto Workers and the teachers and public employees unions.

Still, Bradley has been campaigning in factories and union halls, asking workers to give him a chance.

Dick Bartholomew, a retired UPS driver, heard him speak in Cedar Rapids and vowed: “If he can do everything he said, I’ll carry him to Pennsylvania Avenue on my back. He’s shown real strong support for working people.”

Across town that day, Bradley also visited AFL-CIO members at the local Quaker Oats factory. Wearing a factory hat with a union insignia, Bradley spent more than an hour chatting with employees in the cafeteria about their health care plans and retirement pensions.

“He seems like a good man,” said machinist William Dochtorman, 56, one of several workers who said they are considering voting for him. “I like that he’s out here, looking to see what’s going on.”

Mark Smith, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, acknowledged that Bradley could win over some labor support.

“Nothing is locked up,” said Smith, who estimates that his group’s membership supports Gore by a 2-to-1 ratio. “There are some good trade unions in this state that are supporting Bradley. That’s different than in a lot of primary situations, when the labor movement has close to virtual unanimity. There’s some division here.”

Labor plays a key role in a caucus system, which relies on organized groups to get people out on a chilly January evening to spend several hours talking about the candidates before voting.

The unions--which are credited with helping elect Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat--are adept at getting their members to participate. The question is, will labor members dissent and vote for Bradley?

Bradley’s only official union endorsement is from a local painters union in Des Moines, but his campaign doesn’t appear discouraged. The former Knicks player plans to visit a local carpenters union meeting tonight in Des Moines and four more union halls during the first few weeks of January.

At a rally in a Teamsters union hall in Cedar Rapids this month, cheering members gave Bradley several standing ovations as he pledged to fight for working men and women. They whooped and whistled when he declared: “I’m on your side.”

They chuckled when they heard that, as a union shop steward in the NBA, Bradley fought to ensure that the players had extra-long beds while on the road. They listened intently, some even taking notes, when he spoke of the efforts of labor to change inequity.

“I know that leaders of organized labor are supporting my opponent,” he said. “But I’m paying my respects throughout this campaign to you, and to millions of other Americans in this country who deserve a better shot at a better life. I’m asking you to join me and help me do this.”