GOP candidates race for second place

By Ron Fournier, Associated Press, July 4, 1999

WASHINGTON -- "We're number two!"

Eleven Republican presidential candidates seem to be shouting it from their shaky political perches in a loud, desperate chorus. Lost in the wake of George W. Bush's political force, they are treading water -- all hoping to emerge as The Alternative.

A Texas-size Bush failure is the only hope for this woebegone band.

"There are two tiers," GOP consultant Rich Galen said. "Bush. And all the rest."

Six months into the 2000 campaign, the Democratic race is shaping up to be more orderly and perhaps more competitive. Vice President Al Gore is the clear front-runner, but main rival Bill Bradley showed that he can mount a serious challenge by raising more than $11 million by June 30.

The non-Bush Republicans would love to be running that close to the front-runner.

"Our goal is to be the alternative to Bush," Senator John McCain's spokesman said.

"We're clearly, undeniably the number two to Bush," Dan Quayle's spokesman said.

"This is a Forbes-Bush race." So said Steve Forbes's spokesman.

On the verge of political bankruptcy, former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander is cruising the back roads of New Hampshire this weekend in a rented bus called "Exceeding Expectations."

It is a poor man's imitation to Bush's sleek charter jet dubbed "Great Expectations."

"I'm ready to be the party's nominee," Alexander said.

But the party may not be ready for him, or any other candidate not named Bush. Though there is still time to stumble, Bush has built himself room for error. He leads by wide margins in GOP polls, and he raised twice as much money in four months as Gore raised in six.

The only Republican candidate who can compete dollar-for-dollar is publisher Steve Forbes, a multimillionaire who is writing personal checks. Forbes is trying to claim the upper hand on poll-tested issues such as Social Security, health care, and education while courting the party's conservative base.

He got a boost Friday when conservative leader Paul Weyrich endorsed him.

"I believe it is important that voters in the primary have a choice other than George Bush," Weyrich said.

Bush's aides conceded Forbes's money is a major threat. So they're going after Forbes money: They're mailing fund-raising letters to Forbes magazine subscribers.

For each letter sent, Bush has received an average contribution of $119.20, according to a campaign official.

After Forbes, the rival campaigns have raised little money.

Quayle, the former vice president, is in debt. But he is buoyed by recent polls showing his campaign second to Bush.

"We are delighted to cut George Bush's lead to a mere 45 points. A much more manageable margin," read a tongue-in-cheek note from campaign manager Kyle McSlarrow to supporters.

Quayle is a favorite of social conservatives and is a battle-scarred veteran of the cultural wars. He hopes to raise enough money to stay alive until the early primaries, when a victory could wipe away questions about his electability.

An Alexander supporter recently solicited donations with a letter saying it might be their last opportunity to help him. He must finish strong in an Iowa straw poll next month to remain in the race.

McCain is using his Senate chairmanship to squeeze contributions from lobbyists. The Arizona senator has helped set the 2000 campaign agenda, speaking out on the Kosovo conflict and capitalizing on Bush's fund-raising prowess to push campaign finance reform.

He will lie low in Iowa and try to ambush the front-runner in New Hampshire, where his independent streak might play well.

Elizabeth Dole lost her hold on the number two spot in some polls after the Texas governor hit the campaign trail. Her spokesman dismissed the slip as a temporary "Bush bump." A big draw on the road, she tacked to the left on gun control and back to the right with an antipornography proposal.

Many Republicans see her as the perfect number two -- as in a Bush-Dole ticket.

Representative John Kasich of Ohio has not raised much money, but he has spent less. He has $1.7 million in the bank. Aides say that will carry him long enough to bask in the Bush glow.

Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah was so unimpressed with the non-Bush crowd that he jumped into the race in June. His strategy: Be there if Bush is not.

"If he slips, there's going to have to be someone there to pick up the gauntlet and run," Hatch said.

Conservative activist Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes, a former US ambassador who became a syndicated radio talk-show host, say social conservatives are tired of the GOP establishment, a club that includes Bush. They plan to tap that animus.

Arch-conservatives Patrick J. Buchanan and New Hampshire Senator Bob Smith are considering whether to abandon the GOP. Running under the Reform Party banner would give a candidate millions of dollars in federal money coming to the party because of Ross Perot's 1996 showing.

It also would get them out of the race for the GOP's number two spot.