ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070054
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BATON ROUGE, LA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Pat Buchanan seized the conservative banner in the Republican presidential race Tuesday with a thumping upset of Sen. Phil Gramm in Louisiana caucuses. Other candidates boycotted the contest in deference to next week's traditional kickoff in Iowa.
Buchanan, with deep support among Christian conservatives, demonstrated strength in all corners of Louisiana as he dealt a punishing and perhaps lethal setback to Gramm's presidential hopes.
``This is a victory for a new conservatism of the heart,'' Buchanan told The Associated Press. ``We have put together a coalition of conservatives and populists I now believe can win the Republican nomination. ... We are going to carry this on to Iowa and New Hampshire.''
There were 21 Republican National Convention delegates at stake, and with all the precincts counted, AP's delegate survey showed Buchanan won 13 and Gramm eight. That was a stiff setback for Gramm in an event engineered by his allies in the state.
Just a week ago, Gramm said: ``To become president of the United States, I have to win here in Louisiana.''
Only Buchanan, Gramm and anti-abortion candidate Alan Keyes campaigned here. The other GOP hopefuls stayed away in homage to Iowa's traditional role as the first caucus state.
The boycotters included the two leading contenders, Bob Dole and Steve Forbes, as well as former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander and Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar. They insisted in advance that Louisiana wouldn't matter, although they also rushed to interpret the results as devastating to Gramm.
``The presidential race begins next Monday in Iowa,'' Alexander said.
Indeed, even Louisiana Republicans seemed to think so. The state party said about 7 percent of registered Republicans participated Tuesday.
``Most Iowans haven't paid much attention to Louisiana,'' said Iowa Republican Party chairman Brian Kennedy. ``But to the extent people did, Phil Gramm is going to look silly, because he was the one who came up with the idea of Louisiana jumping ahead of Iowa so that he could have a springboard.''
As if the Louisiana results weren't bad enough, Gramm had more explaining to do when he returned to Iowa today: He missed a critical Senate vote on the farm bill so he could campaign in Louisiana.
Although he was heavily favored, Gramm found himself on the receiving end of a relentless Buchanan effort to suggest that the Texas senator was hardly as conservative as he would have voters believe.
The exit survey revealed that 20 percent of those who turned out to support Gramm, Buchanan and Keyes preferred Dole or Forbes.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Kenny Duplachain samples some oyster gumbo whileby CNBwaiting for customers at his booth across from city hall in Iowa,
La. color. KEYWORDS: POLITICS