In recent weeks, America for Gore, an online nonprofit organization, has intensified its efforts to add former Vice President and Nobel Prize-winner Al Gore to next year's Democratic presidential primary ballot in D.C.
Although Gore has expressed no concrete interest in running for president, he has not confirmed that he will forego the race, according to the Al Gore 2008 Draft Campaign Web site.
America for Gore is one of the main sources of this grassroots movement to add Gore to the ballot. The group's main goal is to convince Gore to run for president in the upcoming election, according to a Sept. 21 press release from the organization. The organization's Web site functions as a meeting point for the numerous branches of the organization around the country.
There have been movements like this in the past, but it is too early to tell if this movement will have an impact on the election, said Curtis Gans, director of Center for the Study of the American Electorate and a professor in the School of Public Affairs.
"There would have to be a major groundswell for this movement to make a difference, and right now such a groundswell does not exist," he said.
It is unlikely Gore will enter another presidential contest, Gans said.
"However, if he wanted to start campaigning now, it would not be too late," he said. "He would still play an important role in the election."
Even if Gore does want to get into the race, it is late to begin fundraising, said John Cipriani, president of the College Democrats and a junior in SPA.
"The other candidates have already raised millions at this point," he said.
There are movements to put Gore on the ballot in more than eight states, including New Hampshire, which traditionally holds the first primary, according to an Oct. 8 press release from America for Gore.
Gore could have a chance of winning the nomination, if not the election, according to Eva Eichen, a freshman in the School of International Service.
"I think he deserves a chance after what happened to him [in 2000]," Eichen said. "He won that election."
Ashley Joyce, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she thought Gore had a chance in the 2008 election.
"He carries some of the positive association of the Clinton administration without the unfettered hatred of Hillary," Joyce said.
With 12 presidential hopefuls currently running for office, there does not appear to be a call for another candidate. A number of polls, including the Pew Poll, have found that a majority of registered Democrats are satisfied with their choices of presidential candidates.
However, according to a poll conducted Oct. 12-14 to Oct. 14 by CNN, 52 percent of the 927 voters polled would vote for Gore over former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the leading Republican. According to the same poll, only 49 percent would vote for the leading Democrat, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, over Giuliani.
Another CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14 put Gore in third place for the Democratic nomination, even though he has not officially entered the race. Gore was supported by 14 percent of the 485 voters polled, Clinton by 46 percent and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, by 17 percent.
The USA Today/Gallup Poll, The Associated Press/Ipsos Poll and Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll found similar results; a majority of other polls did not include Gore's name in their surveys.
