SENATOR Bob Dole won the New York Republican Primary election by a huge majority lasting, taking most of the 93 delegates at stake.
Early returns showed that his two rivals, Mr Steve Forbes and Mr Pat Buchanan, had fared badly in the state, where voters cast their ballots for committed delegates rather than candidates.
Before the primary, Mr Dole had 290 delegates in his quest for the 996 needed to secure the Republican presidential nomination Mr Forbes had 72 and Mr Buchanan 62. The Kansas Senator is now poised to almost wrap up the nomination on `Super Tuesday' next week when six major primaries take place, including Texas and Florida.
London Independent Service add I think we will be the state that puts Senator Dole over the top," the Governor of New York state, Mr George Pataki, boasted yesterday. Among the other states, only California and Texas will send more delegates to the convention in San Diego.
Of the three candidates, only Mr Forbes was still in the state of New York yesterday, apparently glimpsing the miracle of an eleventh hour breakthrough. A final poll conducted for the New York Post showed Mr Dole's lead cut from 48.4 per cent to 46 per cent, while Mr Forbes had jumped from 18.7 per cent to 24.2 per cent.
Mr Buchanan by contrast appeared to be losing ground with only 13.6 per cent in the Post poll. The New York race has been overshadowed by controversy created by the state party's attempts to preserve rules that made it almost impossible for any candidate other than Mr Dole to make it onto the ballot sheets. With some help from the courts, Mr Forbes was finally able to qualify in all 31 of the state's congressional districts while Mr Buchanan was standing in only 23.
Confident of his grip on the state, Mr Dole left yesterday to campaign in Florida, which will vote next Tuesday. In Miami, the senator joked "I feel good about New York except it snowed up there. If it snows here, we're in trouble".
Wednesday's endorsement of Mr Forbes by Mr Jack Kemp, the former pro-football star from Buffalo New York and Bush cabinet member, was a boost. But Mr Kemp, whose main interest in Mr Forbes is his advocacy of a flat tax, may have jumped in too late. "It's like grabbing the helm of the Titanic after it's hit the ice," scoffed the state party chairman, Mr William Powers.