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Lamar Alexander to launch 2000 White House bid Tuesday
March 8, 1999 WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 8) -- Though it comes as no surprise, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander will announce Tuesday that he will make a second bid for the White House. Alexander will announce his 2000 presidential run at 11 a.m. EST in Nashville, Tennessee, where he spent two terms as governor. Following the announcement, Alexander will kick off his official candidacy with a weeklong trip around the country. And he will return to his hometown of Maryville next Monday to talk with students at his old high school. In a CNN interview, Alexander rejected the notion that Texas Gov. George W. Bush, considered to be the current Republican front-runner, has the nomination sewn up. "There'll be no front-runner ... until after the Iowa and New Hampshire votes. And those are a year away," Alexander said. "We need a contest in our party. We have a whole new generation of candidates. None of us are that well known." Alexander said the key to the primary season will be Iowa and New Hampshire, where he has already logged a lot of time since dropping out of the 1996 presidential race. The ex-governor plans to focus his 2000 campaign on the issue of education. It is an area in which Alexander has experience as President George Bush's secretary of education. To keep attention focused on his message, Alexander has ditched his trademark red-and-black plaid shirt this time around. "I want the voters to look at the front of me and I want them to see the words 'schools' and 'parents,' the best schools and parents at their best rather than a red and black shirt," he said. In 1996,, Alexander's best showings were his third-place finishes in both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. He dropped out shortly afterwards. In January, Alexander took the first official step toward another White House run, forming a presidential exploratory committee. Alexander will join AllPolitics for an online chat at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday. |
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MORE STORIES:Monday, March 8, 1999
• Lamar Alexander to launch 2000 White House bid Tuesday • 'All Too Human' chronicles presidential betrayal • Forbes set to announce presidential intentions • Tripp criticizes 'Monica's Story' • McDougal says trial is 'personal vendetta' by Starr • Monday's Supreme Court rulings • Supreme Court honors late Justice Blackmun • Gore announces traffic congestion strategy • New Congress members learn to cope • Bush says campaign is his, not dad's • Questions and answers on GOP budget plan • McDougal on trial for not answering Starr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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