October 11, 1999
Web posted at: 6:33 p.m. EDT (2233 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After months of active campaigning and weeks of mixed signals from staffers, the presidential campaign of former Red Cross Chairwoman Elizabeth Dole announced Monday she will formally launch her White House bid next month.

Elizabeth Dole finished third in August's Iowa Straw Poll

Dole will officially make her presidential ambitions known November 7 in Des Moines, Iowa. The next day, she will travel to Manchester, New Hampshire, and Columbia, South Carolina -- neatly wrapping up a trip to three key states with early primaries and caucuses.

The Dole campaign had put off a formal announcement repeatedly, and there had been wide consideration inside the campaign of never making a formal announcement speech. But most of the other presidential candidates have made such an address, guaranteeing them national and local news coverage as they kick off "announcement tours."

The November 7 date was picked for a reason. "It's exactly one year before the first presidential election of the new millennium and our selection of that date reflects my sense that we will make history," Dole said Monday in a statement issued by her campaign.

Dole finished third in the Iowa GOP straw poll last August -- a finish that established her campaign in the eyes of some observers. Although she trails Texas Gov. George W. Bush in all major campaign polls, Dole still finishes second in many of them and has high name recognition among GOP activists.

Monday, October 11, 1999

• Clinton writes letter seeking delay of nuclear test ban treaty vote
• Poll: Bradley gains ground
• Dole announces official campaign launch
• Gore campaign says AFL-CIO endorsement all but assured
• On eve of lottery vote, ministers hold prayer vigil
• Buchanan brigades could change face of Reform Party

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