‘Surprised’ at Bush’s Victory, Kemp Bows Out

Republican Rep. Jack Kemp of New York dropped out of the presidential race on Thursday, saying he was “surprised” by George Bush’s ability to wrap himself in President Reagan’s mantle.

“I was running against Ronald Reagan--that was a surprise,” Kemp said. “We were competing for the Reagan wing of the Republican Party, and he won.”

Asked about speculation that Bush might tap him as a running mate, Kemp said the second spot on the GOP ticket would be “an honor” but added that “you don’t run for vice president.” And he cautiously hedged his bets by refusing to endorse Bush for now and insisting that the party’s nomination is not sewn up.

“The vice president has a strong lead,” Kemp said, but “it’s only fair” to allow the remaining Republican candidates, Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas and former religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, to continue “to run a race.”

Finished Fourth Tuesday

Kemp’s withdrawal came two days after he finished fourth in 16 of the 17 states that held Super Tuesday primaries or caucuses. Standing on a platform with seven American flags, dozens of his leading supporters, his wife, Joanne, and children Jennifer, Judith and James, Kemp, 52, said he had no immediate plans except for a vacation and did not intend to run again for his congressional seat.

He also said that while “I’m not going to rule out” a run for the New York Senate seat currently held by Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, “I truly am not thinking about it.” Republicans have been looking for a high-profile candidate to run against Moynihan ever since Rudolph W. Giuliani, the chief federal prosecutor in Manhattan, announced he would not seek the job.

As staff members and young supporters shouted “Kemp ‘92” and brushed away tears, the candidate praised his family, quoted the Bible and Winston Churchill and said “no way” when asked if this run for the presidency would be his last.

Repeatedly, Kemp, who has long been described by friends as “incurably optimistic,” insisted that the themes on which he had based his campaign--the continuation of supply-side tax cuts, support for Reagan’s space-based anti-missile defense program and opposition to abortion--had prevailed even though he had not. “We have not failed,” he said. “Our ideas are winning.

“It’s pretty obvious that every candidate in the race is a conservative,” he said. “They’re all Reagan conservatives. The rhetoric of our party has changed, I think for all time . . . by the Reagan revolution and by what Kemp and others have been talking about.”

But the rapid demise of Kemp’s once-promising campaign--he never placed better than a weak third in any state and won only 39 delegates--underscores a significant development and potential problem for Republicans this election year: After years of providing much of their party’s intellectual and political energy, Republican conservatives are without a strong contender they can call their own.

‘Beginning to Wind Down’

“The conservative era is beginning to wind down,” said Kevin Phillips, a political analyst. Kemp “was running on all the themes that were aired and partially succeeded in 1980,” which had become “an old book” by 1988, he said.

Front-runner Bush, who is more moderate than Kemp, has received the votes of many self-described conservatives and has carefully hewed to Reagan’s policies. But many conservative activists view him as, at best, a recent convert. And despite what he was saying Thursday, Kemp until recently had campaigned against both Bush and Dole by calling them “Establishment” Republicans who would endanger the Reagan revolution.

Called Too Liberal

Kemp has also sharply criticized some Reagan Administration officials, such as Secretary of State George P. Shultz, for being too liberal. But Shultz, who was testifying on Capitol Hill as Kemp was pulling out of the race, had the last laugh. As Shultz began to speak at the hearing, conservative Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.) said he would have to step away to attend Kemp’s press conference. “It shows what happens to someone who bases his campaign on a call for my resignation,” Shultz quipped.

John Buckley, campaign spokesman, said Kemp spent $15 million on his effort, and departs with debts of less than $100,000.

“We balanced our budget,” Kemp said.

The key flaw in Kemp’s campaign, supporters said Thursday, was his failure to unite conservatives behind him.

Last year, a large block of influential conservatives backed former Sen. Paul Laxalt of Nevada, until Laxalt dropped out, unable to raise enough money. Many evangelical Christians and social conservatives have backed Robertson. And in New Hampshire, where Kemp had hoped the first-in-the-nation primary would launch his campaign, the conservative and influential Manchester Union-Leader endorsed former Delaware Gov. Pierre S. (Pete) du Pont IV, who dropped out of the campaign three weeks ago.

“For the first time in my political lifetime, conservatives haven’t been unified behind a consensus candidate,” said conservative fund-raiser Richard A. Viguerie, a Kemp supporter. “Now the process has come and gone and we don’t have a candidate.”