Bradley Catching Gore in Money Race

BOSTON--Despite trailing frontrunner Al Gore '69 by large margins in national opinion polls, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Bradley is catching up with the vice president--with the help of Bay State backers--in the one statistic that might matter most at this stage of the campaign: money.

The former New Jersey senator and professional basketball player held a fundraiser at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel Tuesday night to add to the $11 million war chest he has amassed over the past six months, bringing in another $200,000 at the $1,000-a-plate event, a campaign official said.

Though Bradley has still raised less money than Gore, who has collected over $18 million thus far, the former senator raised only $2 million less than the vice president during the second quarter--$7 million to Gore's $9 million, according to the Associated Press. During the first quarter of the year, Gore collected more than twice as much money as Bradley.

So far, Bradley's fundraising success has yet to translate into greater support from voters. Nationwide, Gore leads among Democrats by a three-to-one margin according to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll.

Local polls, though, tell a different story. In a University of Massachusetts poll released this week, Bradley trails Gore by only three percentage points among Bay State voters. The poll gave Gore 38 percent of the Massachusetts vote compared to Bradley's 35 percent, with 10 percent of respondents still undecided.

The turnout at Tuesday night's fundraiser seemed to support the local poll's surprising numbers. Bradley's staff said the event raised more money than they had expected.

After schmoozing with the 200 supporters in the opulent hotel ballroom, Bradley spoke for about 20 minutes. He wandered from topic to topic, offering few specific policy goals. Instead, he outlined the broad themes he said would define his presidency.

Bradley said that if elected, he hoped to maintain the economic prosperity of the Clinton administration, protect the environment, end child poverty and improve race relations.

At a news conference before the fundraiser, Bradley said he would begin fleshing out these general ideas in the fall as the primary race heats up.

"I'm trying to hold some things back," he said. Bradley said he did not believe his ideas would get much attention among voters and in the media if he unveiled them now.

But Bradley elicited the strongest reaction Tuesday when he touted one of the few specific policies he has advocated during the campaign, a proposal to ban the sale of cheap handguns known as "Saturday night specials" and require registration for all handguns.

"It's about time that someone takes on the National Rifle Association," he said to sustained applause. In a jab apparently directed at Gore, who also supports tighter gun restrictions, Bradley said he was "not a Johnny-come-lately on gun control."

Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan have offered Bradley support in the past, and at the fundraiser, several other sports legends jumped on the Bradley bandwagon.

Democrats found themselves in the odd position of listening to a Republican--former Princeton football star and Heisman trophy winner Dick Kazmaier--extol former president Ronald Reagan before endorsing Bradley for the 2000 race.

Bradley, conservatively listed as 6'5", also found himself in the unusual situation of not being the tallest person in the ballroom. Former Celtic star and fellow Basketball Hall of Famer John Havlicek, taller than Bradley by a hair, turned out to lend his support to the former New York Knick.

Bradley also received the blessing of a member of a different dream team, Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West '73, a long-time Bradley supporter who roused the audience with his introductory speech.

"He can be president and he ought to be president because he has the ability to lead," West said.