Southern Votes Cement Gore-Bush Showdown

Freed of competition, Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush clinched their parties’ nominations Tuesday, stacking delegates from Florida to Texas to end their primary contests seven weeks after the first votes were cast.

The rapid conclusion sets up a nearly eight-month fight to November that promises to be as bitter as it is prolonged. Both candidates scrimped on the celebratory remarks Tuesday night, choosing instead to attack their rival.

“Tonight we are halfway to our goal--but only halfway--halfway to ending the Clinton-Gore era in Washington, D.C.,” Texas Gov. Bush told a crowd of supporters at Dell Jewish Community Center in Austin, Texas. “To get there, we must face one more Clinton-Gore campaign. This last week has been a preview. It’s been a preview that the Gore campaign will say anything and will try to win at any cost.”

Gore, he chided, “can’t solve campaign-finance problems when he symbolizes them.” The vice president can’t promise a stronger military, he said, “when his administration has dismantled our military.”

And he cannot differentiate himself from President Clinton, because “for eight years, he’s served as cheerleader-in-chief,” Bush said.

For his part, Gore renewed his debate challenge to Bush--suggesting they meet sometime in the next two weeks to discuss economic issues--and again called on the governor to join him in reining in “soft money” advertising financed by largely unregulated campaign donations. He issued his invitation in an e-mail sent to Bush shortly before claiming the nomination at a victory rally in Florida.

“It’s up to you and your party whether you want to start the ad war arms race,” Gore wrote. “You have the power to join me in banning soft money. If you are willing to do the right thing, we can change politics forever.”

Appearing in a packed high school gymnasium in Tallahassee, Fla., Gore said the nation has reached a fork in the road. His route, he said, leads to prosperity and shoring up of Social Security. “The other fork in the road leads toward the right-wing and curves around toward the approach that failed during the Bush-Quayle years,” Gore charged.

Huge Margins in Six States

The two candidates rolled up huge margins in the six states voting Tuesday--Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida and Tennessee--with totals approaching 90% in some places.

The balloting lost all suspense once Democrat Bill Bradley and Republican John McCain abandoned their campaigns last week, their hopes buried in a pair of coast-to-coast landslides. Former U.N. ambassador Alan Keyes remains in the Republican race, but drew minimal support Tuesday.

In clinching the nomination, Gore nearly tied the record set four years ago by Clinton, who wrapped up the Democratic nomination on March 12, earlier than any candidate in the 80-year history of the multi-state primary process. Clinton, however, was an incumbent running uncontested for a second term.

Gore, in contrast, faced a spirited fight against Bradley, who matched him dollar for dollar in fund-raising and even led Gore in some early polls in New Hampshire and other Northeastern states. But the ground gave out under Bradley when he failed to win New Hampshire and he quit the Democratic race after a 15-state Gore sweep March 7 made the vice president’s nomination a sure thing.

Bush faced an even tougher challenge from McCain, who won several states--including New Hampshire in a landslide--before bowing to the Texan’s inevitability last week. Despite McCain’s strong run, Bush still managed to secure the GOP nomination earlier than any other candidate, breaking the record set four years ago by Bob Dole, who clinched it on March 26.

This year’s swift resolution, however, was less a reflection of the candidates’ appeal than a consequence of the drastically telescoped campaign calendar. As a result of the “front-loading,” well over half the delegates--including those from mega-states California, New York, Texas and Florida--were chosen over a mere seven-week period.

In the last eight days alone, voters in 28 states went to the polls.

In contrast, as recently as 1972, the leadoff New Hampshire primary wasn’t even held until March. Eight years ago, Clinton didn’t capture the Democratic nomination until California voted on June 2.

Both parties are now studying ways to extend the 2004 primary season beyond springtime.

“We’ve allowed ourselves to get into this bad election-year process where we have primaries going off like a string of firecrackers and then an eight-month lull between that and the general election,” said Ed Gillespie, a Republican strategist. “It saps energy out of that process, and I think an eight-month general election [campaign] is going to cause a lot voters to simply tune out for the next six or seven months.”

Polls Show Dead Even Race

With polls showing a dead even race, the presidential contest enters an odd limbo until the nominating conventions this summer. Republicans go first in Philadelphia, starting July 31, and Democrats follow 11 days later in Los Angeles.

Up until the conventions, the candidates will seek to replenish their depleted campaign bank accounts, start vetting potential running mates and, above all, test-market the broad themes, policy platforms and lines of attack they will carry into the fall campaign. Between now and then, more primaries will follow, starting next week in Illinois and concluding June 6 in New Jersey and five other states.

Even with their nominations effectively wrapped up, Bush and Gore held to their schedules and stumped across the states that voted Tuesday. Still, turnout was low as all but a small percentage of voters steered clear of the polls. The scanty participation contrasted with record Republican turnouts when the Bush-McCain race was in full throttle.

Neither Gore nor Bush, however, passed up the chance to vote for himself in his home-state contest.

Cast Ballot in Tennessee

The vice president cast his ballot at midday in Elmwood, Tenn., just beyond Carthage, where Gore spent the night at his family’s farm. He greeted poll workers, signed the voting register and strode across the red and pale green floor of the Forks River School gymnasium in front of 10 television cameras, entering one of the two voting booths. His wife, Tipper, followed him.

After voting, the vice president spoke for about 15 minutes with students and posed for photographs with the school’s basketball team. “What you’re witnessing here [is] the fundamental act which secures our freedom,” he told the children.

Gore’s 87-year-old mother, Pauline, lives nearby. She voted for her son by absentee ballot, said campaign spokesman Chris Lehane.

Bush spent the day in Austin tending mostly to state business. He met with his chief legal counsel from the governor’s office for a briefing on an execution Tuesday and also conferred with campaign advisors, as well as Secret Service officials. Starting today, the federal agency will take over protection of the governor, relieving the Texas officers who have performed the duty up to now.

Bush voted for himself last week by absentee ballot. His parents voted for their son Tuesday morning at their polling place in Houston, with the former president struggling to articulate his emotions. “It gets down to family and how lucky we are,” the elder Bush told reporters.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Primary Results

DEMOCRATS

Florida:

Gore: 83%

Bradley: 17%

Delegates won:

Gore: 145%

Bradley: 16%

*

Louisiana

Gore: 73%

Bradley: 20%

Delegates won:

Gore: 54

Bradley: 7

*

Mississippi

Gore: 89%

Bradley: 9

Delegates won:

Gore: 37

Bradley: 0

*

Oklahoma

Gore: 69%

Bradley: 25

Delegates won:

Gore: 38

Bradley: 7

*

Tennessee

Gore: 92%

Bradley: 5

Delegates won:

Gore: 68%

Bradley: 0

*

Texas

Gore: 79%

Bradley: 18

Delegates won:

Gore: 149

Bradley: 15

*

TOTAL TUESDAY:

Gore: 491

Bradley: 45

*

TOTAL TO DATE

Gore: 2,387

Bradley: 351

*

REPUBLICANS

Florida:

Gore: 83%

Bradley: 17%

Delegates won:

Gore: 145%

Bradley: 16%

*

Louisiana

Bush: 73%

McCain: 20%

Keyes: 5%

Delegates won:

Bush: 80%

McCain: 0%

Keyes: 0%

*

Mississippi

Bush: 84%

McCain: 9%

Keyes: 6%

Delegates won:

Bush: 33%

McCain: 0%

Keyes: 0%

*

Oklahoma

Bush: 69%

McCain: 10%

Keyes: 9%

Delegates won:

Bush: 38%

McCain: 0%

Keyes: 0%

*

Tennessee

Bush: 77%

McCain: 15%

Keyes: 7%

Delegates won:

Bush: 37%

McCain: 0%

Keyes: 0%

*

Texas

Bush: 87%

McCain: 7%

Keyes: 4%

Delegates won:

Bush: 124%

McCain: 0%

Keyes: 0%

*

TOTAL TUESDAY:

Bush: 341%

McCain: 0%

Keyes: 0%

*

TOTAL TO DATE

Bush: 1,042%

McCain: 247%

Keyes: 15%

*

NEEDED FOR NOMINATION

Democrats: 2,170

Republicans: 1,034

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Super Tuesday II

Delegates Won

Florida

George W. Bush: 80

Al Gore: 145

*

Louisiana

George W. Bush: 29

Al Gore: 54

*

Mississippi

George W. Bush:33

Al Gore: 37

*

Oklahoma

George W. Bush: 38

Al Gore: 38

*

Tennessee

George W. Bush: 37

Al Gore: 68

*

Texas

George W. Bush: 124

Al Gore: 149

*

Total to date

George W. Bush: 1,042

Al Gore: 2,387

*

Needed for nomination

George W. Bush: 1,034

Al Gore: 2,170

Note: Bill Bradley won an estimated 45 delegates Tuesday. John McCain and Alan Keyes were not projected to win any.

Source: Associated Press

*

Times staff writers James Gerstenzang and Maria L. La Ganga contributed to this story.