Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen is aiming his pitch at Democrats who strayed from the party to vote for Ronald Reagan as he tours his home state on behalf of the Democratic ticket. Although confident of his own popularity in Texas, Bentsen has to persuade some of his more conservative state supporters to vote for Michael Dukakis if Democrats are to win the state's 29 electoral votes. Bentsen on Wednesday appealed to those voters both in public and in private, as he traveled from the city of Fort Worth to the ranching area of San Angelo to a medical center in Lubbock to the oil town of Tyler. ``I know that this county is principally Republican,'' Bentsen told the 250 people gathered for a picnic at Fort Concho in San Angelo. ``I also know that Lloyd Bentsen carried this county by 58 percent last time.'' He told them that Dukakis' selection of a Texan for the ticket showed the Massachusetts governor was ``reaching out ... ready to listen to differing viewpoints.'' He then traveled to Lubbock, where he was greeted at the airport by a dozen supporters carrying ``Bentsen _ U.S. Senator'' placards _ but none of the Dukakis-Bentsen signs he'd like to see. He attended a demonstration of a new program to diagnose rural patients via television at the Texas Tech medical center, and then slipped away to meet with some 200 to 300 longtime supporters of his Senate campaigns to make his pitch in private. The meeting was closed to the press. Later, in Tyler, he met with another support group _ again out of the view of reporters. And again, Bentsen's Senate paraphernalia was in abundance but nothing for the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket. Robert Cargill of nearby Longview, one of those invited for the dinner sponsored by East Texans for Texas, said Dukakis' addition of Bentsen to the ticket might be enough for him to support it. ``Maybe,'' he said. Bentsen is also explaining to his constituents, both in his appearances and through television ads, why he is running at the same time for re-election to his Senate seat. Texas law allows him to do that, and if he didn't his Republican opponent, Rep. Beau Boulter, would automatically win a six-year term. If he won both races, Bentsen could resign from the Senate and force a special election, giving the Democrats a chance to hold the seat. As he traveled, Bentsen was peppered with questions about his personal wealth and his health, as a result of the release of records Monday by his Washington office. The disclosures showed the 67-year-old senator is in good health, although he has been treated for high cholesterol. His financial records revealed he has earned more than $3.8 million over the past five years, but they don't disclose his net worth. ``I don't know what my net worth is,'' he said. ``Frankly, I haven't made out a financial statement that has given me my net worth in a number of years.'' As he's been hunting for conservative votes, Bentsen also has been taking some shots at Republican George Bush's choice for a running mate, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle. ``I guess we'll have an early season on quail,'' he told reporters. Bentsen brushed aside the age difference between him and the 41-year-old Quayle. ``It's not the miles on you, it's the depth of the tread,'' he said.
