Gop Straw Vote Puts Gramm In White House Texas Senator Campaigned Seriously, Inundating The Delegates With Letters And Calls

Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas overwhelmingly won a presidential popularity poll Saturday among Louisiana Republicans that may be more a testament to his letter-writing abilities than a reflection of his prospects for the White House in 1996.

Gramm received 902 votes to 150 for his nearest rival, Patrick J. Buchanan, the conservative commentator. None of the others had more than 100 votes.

In the larger political scheme, the extremely early presidential preferences of Republicans in Louisiana - a state long been dominated by Democratic politics - is virtually meaningless. More than anything else, it was a way for the state party to attract national attention and raise money at a state convention that would otherwise go unnoticed.

Still, these straw polls have become a rite of passage for presidential contenders. So this, the first of about a half-dozen such events in coming months, set off early jockeying among Republican contenders, most of whom are preparing their official announcements or in the final throes of deciding whether to run.

One who unquestionably took Saturday’s contest seriously was Gramm, who was so determined to win the support of delegates at the Louisiana Republican Party convention here, in his home region, that he inundated the 1,700 delegates with as many as a half-dozen cards and letters and phone calls from his supporters.

He also prevailed on state party officials to schedule him as the keynote speaker immediately before the voting began and persuaded them to let Sen. John McCain of Arizona give a speech that included a plug for the Texas senator.

Knowing that Gramm had the edge, former Gov. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, another presidential hopeful, made a point of saying that he was not even trying to compete.

Alexander came in third, with 58 votes.

Some better known contenders, most notably Bob Dole of Kansas, the Senate majority leader, sat out the event, although at least one Dole operative was spotted making the rounds here and he drew 28 votes.

Jack F. Kemp, the former housing secretary, and Alan Keyes, a former state department official, each drew 36 votes. Former Vice President Dan Quayle received 17 votes, and six others in the contest drew fewer than 10 each.