WASHINGTON (AP) -- Elizabeth Dole has said she won't seek the presidency, but that hasn't quelled speculation about her political future.
Admirers of Dole, president of the American Red Cross and wife of 1996 GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole, are putting in motion a strategy to encourage her to run in 2000.Leading the "Draft Elizabeth Dole" effort is Republican activist Earl Cox, who also tried to draft Colin Powell for a White House run.
Cox has set up headquarters in a renovated railroad depot in Elizabeth Dole's hometown, Salisbury, N.C., and plans to form similar operations this month in her husband's home state, Kansas, he said in letters sent recently to state Republican chairmen.
The National Draft Elizabeth Dole 2000 campaign has filed federal candidate paperwork to begin raising funds and has set an official kickoff for Jan. 23 in Salisbury. Organizers plan to present her with a petition next March urging her to run.
"Elizabeth Dole has an impeccable reputation for being a person of high moral character," Cox wrote. "Her government and corporate experience have earned her a reputation for being a strong and honest leader. Untainted by politics, Elizabeth Dole is well-qualified."
Another leader of the effort is Margaret Kluttz, former mayor of Salisbury.
The group is seeking support from GOP members of Congress and county Republican chairmen in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Elizabeth Dole often is mentioned as a possible Republican nominee for president or vice president. A CNN-USA Today Gallup poll in May showed Texas Gov. George W. Bush as the leading Republican presidential candidate and placed her second, ahead of former Vice President Dan Quayle and former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp.
Earlier this year, she said: "I've said I'm not going to run, and I have no plans to run." But in September in St. Joseph, Mo., she said: "I guess I've learned in this world never to say never."