(Des Moines, IA) Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer Friday declared himself the “conservative alternative” with the money muscle to compete against front-runner George W. Bush.
Bauer and rival candidate Malcolm “Steve” Forbes, Junior — publisher of the family magazine “Forbes” — have been contesting to win the votes of conservatives in the Republican Party.
“In the case of Mr. Forbes, he has spent $65 million dollars since 1996 up until now and he’s basically in a dead heat with me in the polls, so I think he’s already peaked out,” Bauer said during a news conference at the Des Moines airport. “I don’t think money can buy him any more support than it already has.”
Bauer and Forbes are fighting the momentum Bush has acquired with that Bush bankroll of over $50 million in campaign cash. Bauer is third among the Republican field in fundraising.
“We’re second in the total number of donors, 110,000,” Bauer said. “We’re first in the amount of matching funds due us because our donors ten to be average Americans rather than Wall Street types, so we are more than competitive financially.”
Forbes is due in Iowa Saturday morning for a book signing tour.