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  Phil Gramm Presidential Campaign 1996
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ContributorChronicler 
Last EditedChronicler  Jan 25, 2025 06:50pm
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AuthorChronicler
News DateSaturday, July 9, 2022 03:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionPhil Gramm entered the 1996 campaign for the Republican nomination for President as the strongest challenger to Bob Dole, but his campaign floundered and he dropped out before the New Hampshire primary. Gramm's runaway re-election to the US Senate in 1990 left him with a large warchest of $5 million. He was chosen to give the keynote address at the Republican National Convention in 1992. Observers believed Gramm spent too much time in that speech on his critique of Bill Clinton and congressional Democrats and not enough time expounding the record of Pres. George H.W. Bush. Gramm was thus tainted by the overall negative impression the RNC of 1992 left on voters.



After the Republican tsunami of 1994, Gramm began to maneuver for a presidential run. A month after the election, Gramm proposed a program of tax cuts for the Republican-controlled Congress to consider (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/16/1994). Having served as chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Gramm held an event in early 1995 with top donors and raised an additional $4 million, nearly doubling his campaign chest. It was at the time the most money raised in a single event in history (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2/24/1995).

Gramm entered the race on 2/24/1995. He organized an event at Texas A&M University, where he had been an economics professor prior to entering Congress. His speech focused on his plan to balance the federal budget. He presented himself as an unbending conservative, pointing out that "I was conservative before conservative was cool." The three key elements of American success were "private property, free enterprise, and individual freedom" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2/25/1995). Although it was not noticed at first, Gramm was targeting economic conservatives and not social conservatives, which left them open to other contenders.

After Dole officially entered the race, an op-ed stated "Barring a very unlikely set of circumstances, either Bob Dole or Phil Gramm will be the Republican candidate for president in 1996, and either would lose to Bill Clinton in the general election" (Corpus Christi Caller-Times, 4/18/1995). The op-ed believed that Gramm would run to the right of Dole and not have enough centrist support to win the general election.

A major impediment to Gramm's campaign appeared in May 1995 when information about his former brother-in-law George Caton came to light. In 1973, Caton was producing a series of porn movies. He showed Gramm some clips from a film under production entitled "Truck Stop Women," directed by Mark Lester. Gramm invested $15,000 towards the proposed film series. The information came to light in 1995 in an article in the New Republic. Gramm immediately issued a statement that the article was filled with partial truths. He admitted to investing $7,500 for a film he said was a "spoof of beauty contests" (Newsday, 5/19/1995). Social conservatives were shocked by the news.

In an effort to get around the issue, Gramm courted NRA leaders. He chose Kayne Robinson to serve as chairman of his campaign in Iowa; Robinson served on the NRA's national executive board. Gramm also addressed the NRA national convention. He said he wanted to be the first president since Theodore Roosevelt to be a "dedicated, committed hunter" (Palm Beach Post, 5/31/1995).

Next, Gramm took an innovative step for his campaign. In June 1995, Gramm's campaign uploaded a campaign website. It was only the second campaign website in the history of the internet (Lamar Alexander's campaign website preceded Gramm's by a few days). At the time, only 10 million people had internet access at home, and having a website was not considered overly necessary (Indianapolis News, 6/19/1995). The site was quite sparse from the perspective of 2022. It had six links: Biographical and Background Materials, Speeches and Media, Multimedia Archives, FTP and Mailing Lists, Straw Poll Results, and Gramm Quotes. The entire website could be read in about five minutes.

In the summer of 1995, commentators were questioning why Gramm's campaign seemed to stagnate. Gramm won some state straw polls, mostly due to the wide Republican field. When Louisiana moved its caucus earlier in the 1996 calendar, Gramm believed it would be good for his campaign - which undermined his support in New Hampshire, where he had spent more time than any state except Texas. Lamar Alexander thought Gramm's problem was his temperament. Gramm organized a press conference to highlight his support among congressional Republicans, with 20 members flanking him on the Capitol steps, but only four reporters appeared to cover the event (Tacoma News Tribune, 6/25/1995). Throughout 1995, syndicated columnist Molly Ivans ridiculed Gramm. Her lines such as "those who know him best like him least" and use of the word "grammstanding" to describe "the man's notorious habit of claiming credit for work he didn't do" were difficult to shake (Odessa [TX] American, 7/23/1995).

Two polls in August 1995 were critical to Gramm's campaign. The Texas Poll on August 3 showed Dole leading Gramm in Texas by a 35-33% margin; it also showed that while Dole would defeat Clinton by 14% in Texas, Gramm would only defeat Clinton in Texas by 6% (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8/10/1995). The second poll was the Iowa Straw Poll. The presidential candidates were allowed to bring any supporters to Ames to participate in the poll. Dole was expected to win easily, but Gramm flooded Ames with supporters from outside Iowa. In the end, Dole and Gramm tied for first place with 24% each, an unexpectedly strong showing for Gramm.

Leading up to the first Republican presidential primary debate, Gramm received more bad news. A poll in New Hampshire showed him with just 6% support (San Francisco Examiner, 9/27/1995). The first debate was held in Manchester on 10/11/1995. Just before the debate, Gramm went on the offensive, calling on Dole to sign a pledge to cut taxes if elected. The news was eventually overshadowed because Gramm failed to mention his idea during the debate. Having 10 contenders on the stage made it difficult for any one to stand out and necessitated short answers to questions (Boston Globe, 10/12/1995).

Further bad news dogged Gramm as the campaigns focused on Florida in November 1995. The Voices of Florida poll released early in the month showed Dole leading in the state with 30% and other announced candidates trapped in single digits (Gramm with 7%). More respondents suggested Colin Powell than those who supported Gramm. Further, the poll showed that Gramm would lose Florida to Clinton 41-36% (Tallahassee Democrat, 11/6/1995). The second Republican primary debate was held in Orlando on 11/17. Because the Senate was in session and debating the budget, several contenders (including Gramm) were forced to join by satellite. The debate had a tinge of disorganization due to its hybrid nature, and it didn't help Gramm that his only important contribution to the debate was his pledge "to complete the Reagan Revolution" (Tampa Bay Times, 11/18/1995). These events led up to an important straw poll in Florida, in which Dole led with 33% to Gramm with 26% and Alexander with 23% (Tampa Bay Times, 11/19/1995).

As the election year of 1996 dawned, Gramm had spent $19 million and had active organizations in 26 states. He was running television ads in both Iowa and New Hampshire, trying to boost his polling numbers (Berkshire Eagle, 12/14/1995). The third debate was held in South Carolina on 1/13/1996. A recent poll showed Dole leading Gramm there by a 40-17% margin, so Dole decided to stay in DC to work out a budget deal. Gramm lit into Dole for compromising with Clinton rather than standing firm (Greenville News, 1/7/1996). At the time of the fourth debate, held in Iowa on 1/13, Forbes was rising in the polls.

Throughout his campaign, Gramm responded to poor poll numbers by saying that once Republican voters reached the voting booth, they would choose the most conservative candidate. Gramm's first test was the Louisiana caucus on 2/7. Most candidates skipped the event due to its unpopularity in both Iowa and New Hampshire, but Gramm always admitted that his victory there would boost him in the usual two opening events. However, when the votes were counted in Louisiana, Buchanan defeated him by a 44-42% margin. This unexpected loss five days before the Iowa caucus contributed to a Gramm disaster. Dole won the Iowa caucus with a narrow 26-23% margin over Buchanan; Gramm placed fifth with just 9%.

Gramm withdrew from the race after his poor finish in Iowa. His New Hampshire staff had received their final round of lawn signs and were preparing to distribute them when Gramm withdrew on 2/14/1996. Initially, Gramm chose not to endorse another contender, but he had strong words for Pat Buchanan, whose victory in Louisiana changed the trajectory of the race (Des Moines Register, 2/15/1996).
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