THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506180069
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY WARREN FISKE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Although it was hardly an express ticket to the White House, conservative commentator Patrick Buchanan won a presidential campaign public relations victory Saturday.
On a day when the top-tier GOP presidential candidates were courting votes in other states, Buchanan wined and dined Virginia Republicans and walked away with a state GOP straw poll victory.
The results were: Buchanan, 472 votes; Alan Keyes, 90; Phil Gramm, 87; Bob Dole, 65; Richard Lugar, 45; Bob Dornan, Arlen Specter, 4; Pete Wilson, 4; Newt Gingrich, 3; Lamar Alexander, 1.
Political analysts said the win will allow Buchanan to claim he is gaining momentum against GOP heavyweights Dole and Gramm.
``All the presidential campaigns are trying to build enthusiasm and these straw polls are regularly used by the campaigns to show movement and vitality,'' said Michael P. Farris, a national co-chairman for Buchanan.
David Johnson, executive director of the state GOP, cautioned against reading much into the results. ``It was fun and it was a good way to raise money,'' he said, noting that each person who voted had to make a $25 contribution.
The straw poll - an unofficial one - was the highlight of a three-day strategy and social retreat. Although party leaders invited all Republican presidential candidates to speak, only three accepted: Buchanan, Rep. Dornan of California and Keyes, a former assistant secretary of state.
Buchanan, who lives in nearby McLean, took the event seriously. His campaign mailed letters to many conservative and evangelical Republicans urging them to attend the meeting and cast ballots in the straw poll. After they voted, Buchanan had buses on hand to ferry his supporters to an afternoon barbecue along the Potomac River.
Although Dornan and Keyes joined Buchanan in delivering 20-minute speeches, they did not attempt to orchestrate support. Other GOP leaders sent regrets, some saying they were bogged down in states with all-important early primaries and caucuses.
Mike Murphy, a media consultant for former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, said, ``Virginia, bluntly, is not going to be that relevant because the nomination may already (be) decided by the time the state gets around to choosing its delegates.''
The Virginia GOP is expected to hold a nominating convention late next spring - long after a majority of national delegates are chosen in other states.
Lugar, a U.S. senator from Indiana, sent his wife and son to represent him. They were not allowed to speak at the meeting.
``You have to give first priority to the states that hold the first primaries,'' said Mark Lugar in explaining why his father passed up the straw poll to go to Iowa.
Some who voted in the poll said the support for Buchanan underscores the highly conservative leanings of GOP activists in Virginia who control the nominations not only for president, but for all statewide offices.
Buchanan has impressed many in the right wing with his calls for a constitutional ban on abortion, school prayer, limited foreign aid and an abolition of the Department of Education.
``If I am elected president,'' he told the crowd Saturday, ``I will fight until the Bible goes back into public schools and the social propaganda goes out.''
KEYWORDS: REPUBLICAN PARTY VIRGINIA STRAW VOTE RESULTS
PRESIDENTIAL RACE 1996 by CNB