Federal File

Former Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander finished third among contenders for the 1996 GOP presidential nomination in the recent Florida Republican straw poll.

He received 23 percent of more than 3,000 ballots cast, just 3 percentage points behind Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas, who has been viewed as the primary competition for Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas. Mr. Dole topped all candidates with 33 percent, a showing most pundits said did not allow him to decisively break away from the pack.

Before the poll, the Alexander camp suggested the former secretary could finish second. Later, he said he was satisfied with...