Elizabeth Dole mulls a run, shuffling field

By Mary Leonard and Michael Kranish, Globe Staff, January 5, 1999

WASHINGTON -- The fast-churning Republican presidential field took on new shape yesterday, as Elizabeth Dole said she is giving "serious consideration" to running for the White House and Senator Bob Smith of New Hampshire formally filed papers to become a candidate.

Another much-discussed GOP prospect, Senator John Ashcroft of Missouri, is slated to announce today whether he will seek the presidency amid last-minute signs that he is leaning against such a bid.

Dole, the wife of 1996 Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, resigned yesterday from her job as president of the American Red Cross and immediately became a political factor who cannot be ignored in the 2000 race. With or without her husband's connections, the former two-time Cabinet secretary is one of the most prominent women in America and a longtime star in the Republican Party.

"The Red Cross is now solid as a rock, and at this important time in our national life, I believe there may be another way for me to serve our country," said Dole, who has run the nonprofit institution for almost eight years. "The Red Cross has been a glorious mission field, but I believe there may be other duties yet to fulfill."

Just 90 minutes after Dole's news conference, Smith met with a small group of reporters at a Capitol Hill townhouse to announce he had filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to become a presidential candidate. Smith, who narrowly won reelection in 1996 and is little-known nationally, said he hopes to make headway in what he described as a slimmed-down "Chevy campaign" that will rely largely on his contacts in Iowa and his home state of New Hampshire.

"I think I have the experience, the desire, the 'fire,' if you will," Smith said. He called upon Americans to send him at least $20, and up to $1,000, to create a "grass-roots" campaign.

Dole, 62, has been promoted as a GOP presidential candidate by her husband and by a North Carolina-based "Draft Elizabeth Dole 2000" committee. In November, Dole told her hometown newspaper, the Salisbury (N.C.) Post, "I've learned never to say never, and then sort of leave it there."

Dole did not refer specifically to a candidacy during her farewell remarks at the Red Cross headquarters yesterday, but when questioned by reporters afterward, she said: "I'll give it serious consideration. We're going to have to talk about it down the road."

Still, Dole sounded much like a candidate as she ticked off a list of accomplishments in her Red Cross post and emphasized her vision, compassion, and optimism for the country to a throng of applauding employees who packed the historic Board of Governors hall.

"I've cradled a gaunt, Rwandan baby in my arms, and I've sat with our men and women in uniform, far from home and loved ones, as they kept the peace in Bosnia," Dole said. "I've stood in the Somalian darkness while Red Crossers operated by flashlight on a victim of that nation's bloodshed."

Margaret Kluttz, a North Carolina leader of the campaign that sprang up in October to draft Dole, said the response for volunteers and money has been "awesome." Over the weekend, the draft campaign set up a Web site, www.electelizabeth.org, and about $50,000 has been raised for the effort, said Kluttz.

GOP pollster Linda DiVall said about Dole: "If she gets in, she immediately becomes a top-tier candidate. She changes the dynamic of the race, making the front-runner candidates George Bush and Elizabeth Dole."

A graduate of Duke University and Harvard Law School, Dole has never held elective office but has an impressive resume of government service. She served in President Nixon's office of consumer affairs, was a member of the Federal Trade Commission for six years, was transportation secretary in the Reagan administration, and was labor secretary to President Bush. She married Bob Dole in 1975. The couple has no children.

Smith is a self-described conservative with a 100 percent rating in 1996 from the American Conservative Union. He is best known for his strong stand against abortion, his efforts to uncover whether Americans missing in action during the Vietnam War are still alive, and his work as chairman of the ethics committee.

Smith's presidential aspirations have drawn fascination and fury in the first-primary state of New Hampshire. While Smith has a solid base of support as a senator, some residents have expressed concern that his entry into the presidential race could effectively shut down the primary by causing other candidates to stay away. But a statewide poll conducted last month by the Manchester-based American Research Group found that Smith was favored by only 3 percent in a GOP primary, leading observers to say the primary would still be heavily contested.

"I'm not taking New Hampshire people for granted," Smith said.

Smith, 57, a former high school history teacher and varsity basketball coach, was elected to the House in 1984 and to the Senate in 1990. He was reelected in 1996 with 49 percent of the vote.

So far, much of the speculation about the GOP race has centered around Texas Governor George W. Bush, who is ahead in the polls but hasn't announced whether he will run. Last week Arizona Senator John McCain formed an exploratory committee, an initial step toward running.

Other prospects include former education secretary Lamar Alexander, commentator Patrick Buchanan, publisher Steve Forbes, former Vice President Dan Quayle, conservative activist and former Reagan aide Gary Bauer, and Representative John R. Kasich of Ohio.

But as yesterday's movements demonstrated, the GOP field is in flux. Ashcroft, for example, has signaled for months that he intended to run. But his presidential dreams may have collided with the calendar: He faces a potentially tough reelection battle against Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan, who plans to challenge Ashcroft for the Senate seat in 2000. There have been suggestions that Ashcroft could run Senate and presidential races on parallel tracks, but that could be difficult.

On the Democratic side, Vice President Al Gore filed papers late last month to become a candidate. Senator Paul D. Wellstone of Minnesota and former senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey have formed exploratory committees. Others considering running are Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri is believed to be leaning against a race in favor of trying to capture the speakership in 2000.

Kerry, who spent the Christmas vacation at the Sun Valley, Idaho, home of his wife, Teresa Heinz, said the family discussions went well enough for him to proceed to the next phase of his decision-making process, which involves gauging his prospects with politically connected allies and others.

"We had a terrific discussion," Kerry said yesterday of his family talks. "I wouldn't be having a lot of these other discussions if they weren't pretty positive. But I think I need to have the other evaluations."

Kerry said he plans to make an announcement in late January or early February.