A Disastrous Loss for Gramm

BATON ROUGE, La. (Feb. 6) -- Republican presidential hopeful Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) had predicted that if he beat conservative commentator Pat Buchanan decisively in Louisiana's caucus, he would enjoy an avalanche of conservative support going into Iowa's February 12 caucuses. Unfortunately, for Gramm, "the avalanche hit him," as CNN political correspondent Bill Schneider said shortly after 9:00 p.m. today when polls closed with Buchanan comfortably in the lead.

Phil Gramm badly needed a win here, and he'd certainly laid the groundwork. He won a straw poll here a year ago and was backed by Louisiana's three Republican House members as well as most of the state's GOP leadership. Republican Governor Mike Foster, however, sided with Buchanan. Risking the anger of Iowa voters, the Texas senator campaigned hard in Louisiana in hopes a convincing win would establish him as the candidate with the most conservative bona fides.

But it didn't work. "We don't need any more dinosaurs like Dole or Gramm who have been in Washington forever," Louisiana businessman Cecil Heflin told the Associated Press. "I think Buchanan represents change." It was a thrilling victory for Buchanan, who won Alaska's recent GOP straw poll. "If this holds up, it not only shows that we can beat Phil Gramm in his backyard, but it shows we can win this nomination," the jubilant victor told AP after the vote.

"This was a highly conservative group of voters," CNN's Schneider noted. About 63 percent of voters described themselves as "very conservative," and half identified themselves with the religious right, and they went two-to-one for Buchanan. Gramm held a small advantage among the roughly 14 percent of those surveyed who were primarily concerned with defeating President Bill Clinton next fall.

Still, this victory will likely not give Buchanan the "Big Mo" heading into the Iowa caucuses. For now, that race is still shaping up as a showdown between millionaire publisher Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes Jr. and Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan). Neither Dole nor Forbes contested Louisiana, out of deference to Iowa voters. Dole was probably helped by the Louisiana vote, since Gramm loomed as a greater threat than Buchanan.

Related Stories:

• Buchanan Bests Gramm
• Caucus In The Bayou

Copyright © 1997 AllPolitics All Rights Reserved
Terms under which this information is provided to you