Buchanan Bests Gramm In Bayou

A Big Upset For Buchanan

NEW ORLEANS, La. (Feb. 6) -- In an early presidential skirmish for the right wing of the Republican party, voters in the Louisiana caucuses handed commentator Pat Buchanan a stunning victory over Texas Sen. Phil Gramm. For Gramm, who had campaigned hard in the Pelican State, the defeat spells trouble for his presidential bid just six days before the Iowa caucuses.

[Caucus With 100 percent of the vote counted, Buchanan garnered 67 percent to Gramm's 33 percent. That translates into 13 delegates for the TV commentator and eight for the senator. "This isn't a victory for a man, this is a victory for a cause," Buchanan said. "This is a victory for a new conservatism of the heart." (180K AIFF or 180K WAV sound file)

As for Gramm's future, "It's a big blow to his chances to survive," CNN political analyst Bill Schneider said. Gramm, who had pinned his presidential hopes on an opening round victory in Louisiana, at one point even called Louisiana a "must win" state. "It looks like a very big setback for Phil Gramm," added Schneider. "His campaign is limping into Iowa."

Buchanan owed his victory to the religious right, which made up 51 percent of caucus voters, who voted for Buchanan by more than a two-to-one margin, according to exit polls.

[Buchanan]" About 63 percent of Louisiana caucus-goers described themselves as "very conservative," a boon for Buchanan, whose win here builds on his victory in Alaska's recent straw poll.

While it was the first step on the road to picking a Republican nominee to face Bill Clinton in November, the results are anything but conclusive. Most of the Republican field, including Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (R-Kan.) and millionaire publisher Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes Jr., boycotted the Louisiana contest for fear of alienating Iowa supporters.

Iowa has traditionally gone first in the quadrennial presidential sweepstakes, but Louisiana Republican leaders tried to usurp that role this year, to outrage among Iowans.

"The presidential race begins next Monday in Iowa," sniffed former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, one of the absent candidates. "Louisiana is a media sideshow arranged to help the campaigns of two sagging candidates, Mr. Gramm and Mr. Buchanan."

Unlike a normal election, electioneering at polling places was not only allowed, but encouraged. At one polling place in New Orleans, an eight-foot "Gramm for President" hung near the voting booths.

Buchanan and Gramm campaigned hard, turning the caucuses into a "who's-the-real-conservative" battle. Each hoped that success here would give them bragging rights heading into the Feb. 12 Iowa caucuses and the Feb. 20 New Hampshire primary. Talk show host Alan Keyes also has courted voters here, but not as actively.

Gramm, from neighboring Texas, needed to run well to show he is the conservative alternative to Dole and, in the days leading up to the election, he expressed confidence he would win handily.

Buchanan, however, had the endorsement of Gov. Mike Foster.

He struck a populist nerve, calling himself "a Huey Long for the '90s," in a reference to the Democratic ex-governor who battled the oil companies on behalf of the common man in the 1930's.

Nine more delegates to the August Republican convention in San Diego will be selected after the state's March 12 presidential primary. In all, 1,990 Republicans delegates will be selected, with 996 needed for nomination.

Buchanan Bests Gramm In Bayou

A Big Upset For Buchanan

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