Efforts to shape the message of Saturday’s Republican presidential straw poll started hours before any votes were cast and continued into the wee hours after the event had ended.

Before there were any results to analyze, Gov. Terry Branstad assured reporters there was a perfectly sound reason why his candidate — Sen. Bob Dole — wasn’t going to do very well.

”It’s a bigger vote than anybody thought,” said Branstad. ”It’s becoming more of a Republican state and we’re more of a diverse Republican Party.”

Hoping to widen his base of supporters in the new “diverse” Republican Party, Dole and his wife, Elizabeth, held a rally on Saturday at Iowa State’s Delta Delta Delta Sorority.

Dole and his wife spoke to a group of students, who covered the sorority’s lawn, at about 3 p.m., just before Saturday’s straw poll. Elizabeth Dole is a Tri-Delta alumnus.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality,” Bob Dole said. “I am very excited about the straw poll and a chance to meet supporters from all around Iowa.”

Elizabeth Dole also said she was appreciative of the students’ support.

“Thank you so much for everything,” she said. “It is great to be here.”

Michelle Santi and other Tri-Delta members presented Elizabeth Dole with a pledge T-shirt from their house.

“Today has truly been an exhilarating experience,” said Theresa Uchytil, a sophomore in mechanical engineering and a Tri-Delta member.

Bob Dole stressed at the rally the importance of job opportunities, farming and world peace. “It is really a great opportunity to be here,” he said. “College students tend to not get wrapped up in politics, when it is truly their futures on the line.”

Dole, who had solid leads in earlier Iowa polls, tied Texas Sen. Phil Gramm with 24.36 percent of the straw-poll vote. The Kansas senator was quick to downplay what some analysts said was an indication his support may be eroding.

”In my view, this is one pebble on the beach,” a stoic Dole said Sunday morning. ”There will be a lot of beaches to cross.”

Gramm, who got the biggest boost from the polling, was a bit more positive — both before and after.

”We’re going to build on what we’ve done here today,” he said. ”Starting Monday, we’re going back to everybody who has come here. We’re going to broaden out from this.”

No candidate was waiting for the vote totals to begin putting the best face on the high-profile straw poll, and all were trying to shape the event to fit their message.

Dole spent time comparing notes on electoral college leanings in a hypothetical matchup against President Clinton, and it was little surprise that his numbers looked pretty good. Still, Dole shrugged off any significance of Saturday’s voting.

As buses streamed into the parking lot, Gramm was thinking a bit wistfully about a similar event in his neck of the woods — and not Dole’s.

”There ought to be an advantage from being from a neighboring state,” Gramm said. ”If we were doing this in Oklahoma, there’s no way I could keep people from coming up from Texas.”

There was little reserve from an excited Pat Buchanan, who declared: ”This is a tremendous grass-roots showing.”

”We’ve got a great feeling out here,” Buchanan said. ”The whole message is resonating.”

California Gov. Pete Wilson and his aides sought humor from his modest presence outside the bustling Hilton Coliseum.

Wilson said he was spending much of his time looking for Iowans among the throngs of out-of-staters.

”To me, it’s an opportunity to speak to some Iowans,” Wilson said. ”I hope there are some.”

Wilson said at least the state party stood to gain some money from the $25-a-head event. ”The other big winners are probably Amtrak and Greyhound, but that’s all right,” Wilson said.

To underscore their point, Wilson aides constructed a signpost outside their tent, pointing in all the directions of the compass noting that Dallas was 714 miles away, Russell, Kan., — Dole’s hometown — 395 miles, Nashville 668 miles and Chicago 326 miles.

Jason Gross, who runs Wilson’s Iowa campaign, stared across at an elaborate Gramm setup with catered barbecue and country music.

”Spending money on hype and straw poll tickets isn’t going to get our message out,” Gross said. ”I hear their barbecue is better than our chips and salsa.”

Gramm was less modest, telling his cheering backers, ”We’re shooting with real bullets” and exhorting them to vote.

Pointing to a throng of reporters, he said: ”They didn’t come here to hear what I have to say and they didn’t come here to hear what Bob Dole has to say.

”They came here to hear what you have to say.”

Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander was also exhorting supporters to look beyond the straw poll.

”That’s not what we’re focused on,” Alexander said. ”Our focus is on the February caucuses. Our strategy is to try to move up in the polls gradually.”

Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this report.