George W. Bush clinched the Virginia and Washington primaries as well as the North Dakota caucus yesterday, in the last day of voting leading up to next week's 13-state Super Tuesday.
In the lone Democratic primary of the day yesterday in Washington state, Al Gore beat out Bill Bradley, continuing his winning streak in the election 2000 primary season.
The Republicans
Bush led Sen. John McCain by 12 percentage points in Virginia -- 53 percent to 44 percent, with Alan Keyes running a distant third in the contest with three percent.
With results of all 49 caucuses in, Bush had 76 percent to McCain's 19 in North Dakota. Keyes had only five percent, which was enough to earn him one delegate.
In Washington, Bush defeated McCain, earning seven delegates to McCain's five.
There was some speculation throughout the day yesterday that McCain's Monday attacks of Christian conservative leaders might have hurt his performance in the primary.
In fact, among the Christian right, Bush trounced McCain, 8-to-1, according to exit polls.
In a speech Monday delivered in Virginia Beach, McCain accused two of the most influential and widely-known leaders of the Christian right -- Pat Robertson, the founder of the Christian Coalition, and Rev. Jerry Flawell, the founder of the Moral Majority of being "agents of intolerance."
Yesterday he emphasized his Monday remarks, criticizing Robertson and Flawell for the "evil influence that they exercise over the Republican Party."
According to government professor Dean Spiliotes, McCain's expressed attitude towards the Christian Right, despite the support he had from former presidential candidate and social conservative Gary Bauer, "probably didn't help him."
He said the remarks did not convert members of the Christian Right into Bush supporters, but he said the speech could have increased the turnout of social conservatives who fear that a McCain nomination by the Republican Party would take away their voice for them in November 2000.
Bush also continued to garner widespread support from registered republicans, making up two-thirds of Virginia voters, and among citizens who described themselves in exit polls as conservatives.
Six out of 10 Bush supporters claimed that McCain was not conservative enough.
Spiliotes said it is very important that McCain be able to draw Republican voters, for him to eventually be able to earn the Republican Party nomination.
However, he pointed out that "his ability to draw these other voters shows that he'd be electable in November."
The sweep yesterday was an important step for Bush, who has been struggling to compete with his maverick opponent since big primary losses to McCain in Michigan and Arizona last week.
Going into the round of elections yesterday, McCain had earned 95 delegates, while Bush had only 83, according to a count by The New York Times.
In the Virginia's winner-take-all Republican Primary, there were 56 delegates at stake and in Washington, voters decided who should receive 12 of their 37 delegates. The recipient of the remaining delegates will be decided at party caucuses on March 7.
Bush was well-positioned to win in Virginia and anything less than a solid victory would have been seen as a loss after his defeat in Michigan. The Bush campaign acknowledges spending about 1.9 million dollars on advertising in Virginia, while McCain is estimated to have spent about 1 million dollars in a last ditch effort to fight Bush.
There is some speculation that McCain used Virginia to show his willingness to take tough stands as he enters more moderate states like California, Ohio and New York next week.
The Democrats
With a portion of Washington's precincts reporting last night, Gore held a runaway lead over Bradley.
There were no delegates at stake in the Washington primary, but Bradley campaigned vigorously in the state for six days preceding the election, hoping for a big win as a symbolic victory that could lead towards catching up to Bush.
Spiliotes predicted that even if Bradley were to win the race, which he did not, the race towards the Democratic nomination would still be an "uphill battle for him."
When asked if the Washington results could potentially affect crucial elections next week, like the one in New York, Spiliotes pointed out that New York is on the opposite side of the country and has key minority and labor constituencies that are very dedicated to Gore.
Before the primary's results were tabulated, Spiliotes said, "I think Bradley needs to do something to justify staying in the race," and with this big symbolic loss, Bradley may not have much luck catching up with Gore in the upcoming elections.
