Powell Muddles Cityvote Results
The best chance for CityVote, the experimental primary, to be considered a key factor in the 1996 election may have evaporated Wednesday.
Voters in more than a dozen cities seemed to give Colin Powell a strong endorsement in the straw poll. He finished second nationally to President Clinton and beating out Kansas Sen. Bob Dole in most cities.
“Dole’s clock was cleaned by Powell,” said Larry Agran, executive director for CityVote.
But the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs said Wednesday he wasn’t going to run for president, raising one more question about the value of the plebiscite.
Some Democrats, like Washington state party chairman Paul Berendt, were inclined to say Powell’s voters should gravitate toward Clinton, because both support some key issues like abortion rights, affirmative action and gun control.
Some Republicans were quick to point out that Powell’s voters - like those who supported Republicans and third-party candidates - were voting “not Clinton.”
Clinton received about 43 percent of the total votes cast in all the cities. That was slightly better than his 36 percent showing in Spokane and 39 percent showing in Coeur d’Alene, and a bit worse than his 50 percent showing in Tacoma.
Duane Sommers said he was surprised at Clinton’s totals, but noted “maybe Democrats didn’t have any place else to go.”
That wasn’t the case with Republicans, who had 13 identified candidates.
After Dole, the Republican field trailed away so badly they were hardly noticeable.
Agran said voters were registering their disgust with Clinton and the major Republican candidates alike for refusing to participate in the CityVote process.
The Democrats tried unsuccessfully to have Clinton’s name removed from the ballot. Most recognizable candidates refused to participate in debates, forcing two forums to be canceled. Only the Spokane forum was held, and it was attended by candidates who were considered the longest of long shots.
Powell didn’t participate, either. Yet the voters seemed to support him, Agran was reminded.
“He’s the only one who had a plausible excuse,” Agran replied. “He was on a national book tour, and was not a candidate.”
Agran said he hopes CityVote can convince the leading candidates to agree to individual televised interviews on urban issues during the coming months.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Nationwide vote totals Bill Clinton………..91,763 Lyndon LaRouche………1,106 Total Democrats……..92,869 Lamar Alexander………1,434 Pat Buchanan…………6,209 Charles Collins………..391 Bob Dole……………24,890 Bob Dornan…………….969 Art Fletcher…………..241 Steve Forbes………..10,134 Phil Gramm…………..6,122 Alan Keyes…………..2,786 Richard Lugar………..1,306 Colin Powell………..38,205 Arlen Specter………..1,286 Pete Wilson………….1,124 Total Republicans……95,097 Bill Bradley…………5,729 Harry Brown………….1,974 John Hagelin…………..921 Jesse Jackson………..4,234 Ross Perot…………..7,619 Lowell Weicker…………993 Total 3rd party/independents …………………..21,470 Grand total………..209,436