Early West Virginia Returns Favor Clinton : Politics: The Arkansas governor appears to hold a huge lead over Brown in primary voting. Bush is rolling over Buchanan.

Early returns gave Bill Clinton a large lead over former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. in the West Virginia primary Tuesday, as the Arkansas governor continued his methodical march toward the Democratic presidential nomination.

President Bush, who has already clinched his renomination, also appeared headed toward an easy victory in West Virginia over conservative columnist Patrick J. Buchanan.

Democratic and Republican voters also went to the polls Tuesday in Nebraska.

With 1% of the vote counted in West Virginia, Clinton led Brown 75% to 13%. On the Republican side, Bush led Buchanan 84% to 13%.

Bush went into the day’s voting with 1,230 delegates, significantly more than the 1,105 needed for a first-round nomination at the GOP convention in August. At stake in Tuesday’s GOP voting were 24 delegates in Nebraska and 18 in West Virginia.

Clinton, meanwhile, went into Tuesday’s contests with 1,738 delegates--81% of the 2,145 needed for a first-ballot nomination. The early results suggested that he would win a clear majority of the 31 delegates at stake in West Virginia. Nebraska was choosing 25 delegates.

With 740 pledged delegates still to be chosen in the eight remaining contests after Tuesday’s voting, it now appears virtually certain that Clinton will go over the top on June 2, when California, Ohio, New Jersey, Alabama, Montana and New Mexico close out the primary season.

The day’s most spirited contest came in West Virginia, where Democratic Gov. Gaston Caperton faced a stiff challenge from Mario J. Palumbo, a former state attorney general, and state Sen. Charlotte Pritt. Caperton has suffered through a turbulent first term marked by political and personal controversy ranging from an unpopular tax increase to a bitter divorce.

On the Republican side, Agriculture Commissioner Cleve Benedict faced off against former state legislator A. V. Criss.

In West Virginia and Nebraska, the presidential contests drew little attention--from the candidates or voters. Their primaries were eclipsed by the Los Angeles riots, which dominated news coverage and drew visits to the city last week from Bush, Buchanan, Clinton and Brown.

“Interest has been really down from what it usually is,” said Deane Finnegan, executive director of the Nebraska Democratic Party. “It’s been very low key--very, very low key.”

Only Brown devoted much time to campaigning in either state; Bush and Buchanan skipped both entirely. Clinton made only a brief stop in Nebraska last Sunday and devoted just one full day to West Virginia, where he had been endorsed by Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV. Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, who dropped out of the Democratic race in March, did not publicly endorse either of his former rivals.

Bush’s West Virginia victory kept his perfect record intact: He has now defeated Buchanan in each of the 28 Republican contests.

Heading into Tuesday’s voting, Clinton had defeated Brown in 10 consecutive contests. Brown last bested Clinton in the Alaska caucus on April 2--though both trailed an uncommitted slate. Since then, Clinton has rolled up victories in New York, Wisconsin, Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Guam, the District of Columbia, Indiana and North Carolina.

Of the remaining states on the Democratic calendar, only two appear at all encouraging for Brown. Some analysts believe that he could improve on his recent performances in environmentally sensitive Oregon, which votes next Tuesday. Clinton aides apparently think so: Though the campaign did not run television ads in either Nebraska or West Virginia, it is running a spot in Oregon that encourages viewers to call an 800 number for a copy of the Arkansas governor’s economic plan.

Brown, who served two terms as California’s governor, is also hoping for a strong showing in his native state.

But Brown’s poor finishes elsewhere appear to be eroding his support in California as well: A Field Institute poll released Tuesday showed Clinton leading Brown 49% to 42% among likely Democratic primary voters in California.

In a late April Los Angeles Times poll, Brown held a lead of 51% to 37%.

With the nomination virtually in hand, though, Clinton has already shifted his focus toward the general election--and Bush and potential independent candidate Ross Perot.