Few LaRouche Followers Win in 4 Primaries

Every major candidate backed by Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. fared poorly in the spate of primary elections over the last few days, prompting Democratic officials to reassert that stunning victories by LaRouche followers in Illinois two months ago were a fluke.

LaRouche candidates, running as Democrats, came nowhere close to winning nominations for three U.S. Senate seats, 30 House seats, six state legislative seats and state commissioner of agriculture in primaries in Texas on Saturday and in Ohio, Indiana and North Carolina on Tuesday.

Only in four House districts where they faced no opponents did LaRouche candidates get the Democratic nominations. But Republican incumbents will be heavily favored to win in the general election in November.

Illinois Victories

The primaries provided the first gauge of LaRouche strength since two of his disciples won the Democratic nominations for lieutenant governor and secretary of state in Illinois. The results drove Adlai E. Stevenson III, the Democratic nominee for governor, to retire from the ticket and seek ways to run as an independent.

LaRouche, whom critics accuse of anti-Semitism--and who considers Henry A. Kissinger a Soviet agent and Queen Elizabeth a drug trafficker--had boasted that Illinois signaled growing support for his own presidential campaign and for other candidates he backs.

But Democratic officials, attributing LaRouche’s Illinois victories to lack of voter knowledge about any of the candidates, said Wednesday that education efforts by the party and intense scrutiny of LaRouche by the news media had prevented any recurrence.

“It should be clear now,” Terry Michael, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said, “that the Illinois victory by this cult was a fluke and that, as long as the voters are aware of what these people stand for, they are going to reject them.”

More Gains Held Unlikely

Michael said it was “almost beyond the realm of imagination” that large slates of LaRouche candidates would do well in primaries in Pennsylvania on May 20 and in California on June 3.

Mel Klenetsky, co-director of LaRouche political operations, contended that “these results do not negate the process” of developing support for the LaRouche organization. He charged that candidates were victimized by election “fraud,” “slanderous” Democratic Party mailings on LaRouche and “lies” by the news media.

But about the only results Klenetsky could point to proudly involved Democratic county committee posts in Texas. LaRouche candidate Donald Varella forced a runoff for chairman of the Bexar County (San Antonio) committee, and other followers--running for 140 of the hundreds of committee posts up for election statewide--won about 15.

Otherwise in Texas, LaRouche candidates were defeated in 10 House primary races, won two House nominations unopposed, lost a bid for a state Legislature seat and polled only 19% of the vote for state agriculture commissioner.

Democratic officials sent 20,000 mailers to party activists listing LaRouche’s views.

Losses in Ohio

In Ohio, the LaRouche Senate candidate, Don Scott, was trounced by Democratic Sen. John Glenn. Twelve House candidates also lost, but two won unopposed.

“This shows that Democrats don’t support anti-Semites and kooks,” state Democratic Chairman Jim Ruvolo said.

Democrats had feared that the Senate primary in Indiana, pitting the party-endorsed Jill Long against LaRouche follower Georgia Irey, might turn into a repetition of Illinois because both candidates were little known at the start of the race. However, after vigorous party advertising, Long whipped Irey, 3 to 1.

In North Carolina’s Senate Democratic contest, LaRouche adherent Milton Croom, 75, called for a quarantine of AIDS victims and a “crash program” to develop President Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense system.

“We shifted the whole nature of the debate here,” said Ron Kokinda, a LaRouche aide who helped Croom. With 1% of the vote, Croom finished ninth in a 10-man field.