Perot Write-In Bid Fizzles in N. Dakota Primary : Elections: Former member of House leadership, an apparent victim of check-writing scandal, loses on Arkansas Democratic ballot.

An organized write-in campaign for Ross Perot appeared to fizzle in North Dakota Tuesday as President Bush easily won a Republican primary in which comic Pat Paulsen was his lone foe and, among Democrats, extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. led a contest that was non-binding and did not include any of the party’s major candidates.

In an Arkansas congressional primary, meanwhile, a one-time member of the House Democratic leadership who was tainted by the chamber’s check-writing scandal went down to defeat. Rep. Beryl Anthony Jr. became the 11th House incumbent to lose a primary this year.

In the North Dakota presidential primaries, Perot supporters had urged Republicans and Democrats alike to write in his name. And election officials reported a number of calls from voters with questions indicating they intended to cast write-in votes. But few ended up doing so.

With 54% of the vote counted in the GOP presidential primary for 17 convention delegates, Bush had 89%, Paulsen 9% and Perot 2%.

Bush sewed up the Republican nomination weeks ago and the North Dakota contest attracted almost no attention. State Republicans adopted a winner-take-all system designed to make sure that all of the delegates go to Bush.

“We did not want Pat Paulsen to receive any of our delegates,” Republican state Chairman Kevin Cramer said. “That’s ridiculous.”

North Dakota Democrats held an advisory “beauty contest” presidential primary in which no convention delegates were at stake. And neither Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, who clinched the party’s nomination in a series of primaries last week, nor any other major candidates were even listed on the ballot.

The only names on the ballot were LaRouche, who is serving a tax fraud sentence in federal prison, Miami comic Tom Shiekman and Nevada millionaire Charles Woods. With 54% of the vote counted, LaRouche led with 39%.

Perot had 15% of the Democratic vote.

North Dakota Democrats chose their 15 convention delegates at a state convention in April.

In the Arkansas congressional primary, Anthony lost his renomination bid to Secretary of State Bill McCuen, whose campaign focused on the 109 bad checks Anthony wrote on the House bank.

“It’s time to bounce the bouncer,” one of McCuen’s television commercials said.

With all the precincts reporting, McCuen had 51% to Anthony’s 49%.

Anthony first won his office in 1978 and had easily won reelection since then. From 1986-90, he chaired the Democratic committee that raised money for the party’s House candidates. He also has been a member of the House Ways and Means Committee since 1980.

Two other states held congressional primaries Tuesday.

In Virginia, voters moved the state a step closer to having its first black member of Congress this century. Robert Scott, a black state senator, won a Democratic House primary in a district that stretches between Richmond and Norfolk; he now will face a black Republican in November.

In Maine, L. L. Bean heiress Linda Bean was leading two opponents in the Republican race to challenge Democratic incumbent Thomas H. Andrews in the fall. With 78% of the precincts reporting, she had 45% of the vote to 34% for her nearest opponent.