March 3, 1999
Web posted at: 6:20 p.m. EST (2320 GMT)

WASHINGTON (March 3) -- Former Red Cross President Elizabeth Dole has hired a campaign manager for her as-yet unannounced bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, CNN has learned. He is Tom Daffron, who was most recently chief of staff to Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tennessee). A veteran of Republican politics, Daffron has also worked for the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and was a chief of staff to former Maine Sen. William Cohen. Daffron also managed the winning campaign of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) in 1996 and is considered a savvy strategist for working with Republican women candidates.

Daffron's hiring is a significant step forward for Dole's presidential plans. Dole resigned her Red Cross post to explore a possible presidential bid, but has yet to formally announce any plans to run. She has a small staff in Washington, but until now, no one formally in charge of the operation. Dole is expected to announce in the coming weeks that she will proceed with a presidential exploratory effort. This week, Texas Gov. George W. Bush announced his plan to form an exploratory committee; he and Dole have consistently topped GOP presidential polls around the country.

WASHINGTON (March 3) -- A first Wednesday in the 2000 presidential race: Democrat Bill Bradley's campaign has met the eligibility requirements to receive federal matching funds and it just took just two months. That means that in at least 20 states Bradley has raised more than $5,000 per state, in amounts of $250 or less. Bradley's Democratic rival, Vice President Al Gore, also plans to accept public matching funds, which means both must agree to primary season spending limits.

WASHINGTON (March 3) - Speaking of Al Gore, the vice president and current front-runner for the Democratic nomination is about to hit the campaign trail "officially" for the first time. According to aides, Gore will visit New Hampshire and Iowa on March 15 to meet with supporters and activists. It will be his first purely political trip. That means the trip will be paid for by his presidential campaign rather than the federal government, except the Secret Service protection for the vice president. He will return to both states at the end of March.

A Gore adviser said the campaign is taking a lesson from the 1988 campaign of then-Vice President George Bush. As the presumed heir apparent to President Ronald Reagan, Bush stumbled early and lost the Iowa caucuses before coming back to win the New Hampshire primary. Gore intends to demonstrate early on the importance of these states, shoring up support in both places.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AllPolitics, March 3) -- Republican commentator Pat Buchanan was in first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa Wednesday as he stumps in his third bid for the GOP presidential nomination. Buchanan said he can deliver another surprise performance in the early caucuses and primaries, which will provide his campaign with steam heading into a front-loaded nominating season that probably will be over within a month of the first test. "If I can come out of there as the candidate of populists and conservatives, with some Democratic support, going into all the western states against an establishment candidate ... I've got a fighting chance of going all the way to the nomination," Buchanan said. In 1996 the conservative firebrand stunned the Republican establishment by finishing second in the Iowa caucuses, followed by a win in the New Hampshire primary.

CNN's Beth Fouhy contributed to this report.

Wednesday, March 3, 1999

• First lady tests New York's Senate waters
• Florida joins rush toward early primary
• McDougal lawyers may subpoena Lewinsky, Hiatt Steele
• Monica tells her version of "foolish" Clinton affair
• To watch or not to watch? A letter to Monica
• Clinton promotes 'family first' legislative agenda
• Transcript: Clinton discusses Democratic legislative agenda
• Who's in, who's out in presidential sweepstakes
• Ginsburg given unflattering portrayal by Lewinsky
• GOP begins sales job for a tax cut
• Cohen will explain Tripp's job
• Sen. Thompson won't run for president
• Babbitt seeks to fix Indian funds
• Ventura: State of the state is great
• Mayor who made derogatory comments about blacks resigns
• Lewinsky book sales may fade fast
• HMO debate shifts to what is 'medically necessary'
• Changes could disrupt 2000 census
• Breast cancer stamp raises more than $5 million
• Lewinsky: Clinton 'a very sensual man'
• Chaos erupts in Alabama statehouse


Election 2000 Briefs:
• Dole hires campaign manager
• Bradley scores a first
• Gore officially hits the trail
• Buchanan predicts early primary season wins

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