 " Draft Perot " organizations opened throughout the nation , and petition drives were coordinated largely by Perot 's friend Tom Luce , and the real estate arm of Perot Systems , to help secure a place for the candidate on every state ballot . At the height of the efforts , 18 @,@ 000 simultaneous calls came into Perot 's telephone banks after he appeared on the Phil Donahue Show . At one point , 30 @,@ 000 telephone calls were received in one hour . MCI Communications Corporation reported that over a million calls came in during the first ten days that the phone banks were active . At the time , presidential polls showed Perot with 21 % support from the electorate , 14 points behind likely Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton and 16 points behind President Bush . Despite this , only one third of potential voters knew enough about Perot to form an opinion of him . A large segment of his support came from Reagan Democrats , entrepreneurs and suburban conservatives deemed " Perot Republicans " , who agreed with the central theme of his campaign , though they disagreed with his pro @-@ choice stance on abortion . Political newcomers were also involved in the volunteer efforts . 
