Tamraz Considers Running For Office

Businessman tests the waters with an online survey

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Nov. 28) -- Roger Tamraz, the international businessman who bluntly admitted making political contributions in an attempt to gain access to the Clinton White House, is considering running for political office.

Tamraz, 57, has created his own Web site and in an online survey, he asks visitors:

"If Roger Tamraz ran for political office, would your view of his candidacy be: Favorable Neutral Unfavorable No Opinion."

Tamraz told The Associated Press he's thinking about running for office, even though "I'm not the typical American, obviously. I'm an immigrant with a foreign accent."

Tamraz said he has been encouraged by people who watched his Sept. 18 testimony to the Senate Governmental Affairs committee, and praised him for his "straight talk."

He minimized controversies in his past, including international arrest warrants, saying, "All of us come with a certain baggage." During his Senate testimony, he was forced to admit he was not registered to vote.

Tamraz, who wanted to pitch a pipeline project to President Bill Clinton, never got a formal meeting with the president, but was able to speak to him about the project at a March 27, 1996 White House dinner. Tamraz donated more than $300,000 to the Democratic Party during the 1996 election cycle.

In Other News:

Friday Nov. 28, 1997

• Analysis: Lamar Alexander's Iowa Coup
• Tamraz Considers Running For Office
• Golf, Food Mark Thanksgiving For Clinton

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