PEROT WINS REFORM PARTY'S NOMINATION.

Byline: Katie Fairbank Assoicated Press

Reform Party members chose Ross Perot to be their first-ever presidential candidate, opting for the third-party's founder over challenger Richard Lamm, it was announced Saturday.

The results, announced by party chairman Russ Verney, showed that Perot received 32,145 votes, or 65 percent, and Lamm received 17,121 votes, or 35 percent.

Perot has spent millions building the new third party, which is on ballots in some form in 40 states. He is expected to accept the nomination this evening.

Opponent Lamm, a former Colorado governor, knew he would have difficulty winning against the Texas billionaire, who has bankrolled the fledgling party.

Lamm had given himself a one-in-three chance of beating Perot, and complained that he was put at a disadvantage throughout the primary. He said that in the voting process, some voters did not receive ballots, while others received multiple ballots - raising questions about the validity of the results.

But he supports the reform movement. ``I think that right here in Valley Forge we're bringing together a group of people where we're going to grow the reform movement to keep those other two parties honest, or make them honest again, I hope,'' Lamm said in an interview with AP Network News before the results were announced.

``It's a wonderful life either way,'' he said when asked what he would do if he lost.

This is not Perot's first run for the presidency. In 1992, he ran as an independent, garnering 19 percent of the popular vote. Perot will be facing an uphill battle; a Newsweek poll shows he now has only 3 percent of the vote.

Verney said that when the Texan has talked to the country in the past, people have responded.

``He is capable of raising the numbers. Over the last four years Mr. Perot has not been promoting himself,'' Verney said.

Perot will begin campaigning soon after Labor Day.

The Reform Party has been negotiating for 30-minute blocks of time on all four major television networks. The broadcasts will run about once a week through November, Verney said.

Fund-raising efforts also will begin soon, he said.

The amounts needed to fund a campaign will be determined by whether Perot decides to accept $30 million in matching funds from the Federal Election Commission. He qualifies for the money because of his showing in 1992.

If he does accept the FEC's matching funds, he'll be restricted to using only $50,000 of his own money.

Regardless, the fund raising will go forward, Verney said.

``You still want people to take ownership for the party and its future,'' Verney said.

The Reform Party named its candidate three days after the Republicans nominated Bob Dole at a traditional political convention in San Diego. The Democrats will convene in Chicago on Aug. 26 to nominate President Clinton for a second term.

Anything but a traditional political convention, the Reform Party meeting had no roll call of the states with each declaring its preference for ``the next president of the United States.'' Members of the third party made their choices by mail, telephone and e-mail.

Lamm arrived at Valley Forge hours before the results were to be made public. Perot planned to arrive today in time for a rally, at which the nominee was to give his acceptance speech. About 1,500 members of the newborn third party traveled to the historic area to hear the announcement of the group's first-ever presidential candidate.

ROSS PEROT

NAME:Henry Ross Perot.

AGE: 66. Born June 27, 1930, in Texarkana, Texas.

EDUCATION: Graduated U.S. Naval Academy, 1953.

MILITARY: U.S. Navy, 1953-1957.

EXPERIENCE: IBM data processing salesman, 1957-62. Founder of Electronic Data Systems, 1962. Chairman of EDS, 1962-84. Founder, Perot Systems Corp., 1988. Ran for president as an Independent candidate in 1992, got 19 percent of the popular vote. Book author: ``Not for Sale at Any Price,'' 1993; ``The Dollar Crisis: A Blueprint to Help Rebuild the American Dream,'' with Sen. Paul Simon, 1996.

FAMILY: Married Margot Birmingham in 1956. Five children.

HOBBIES: Horseback riding, speed boating, wind surfing, jogging. Collector of personal mementos, Remington bronzes and paintings, and Norman Rockwell paintings.

QUOTE: ``I will continue to do . . . whatever it takes to leave a better country for my children and grandchildren. If anybody should do it, I should do it, and I will do it, and I'm in a unique position to do it.''

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Photo: no caption (Ross Perot)

Box: ROSS PEROT (see te xt)