Bush, Gore grab nominations on busy Southern primary night

By Ian Christopher McCaleb/CNN

March 14, 2000
Web posted at: 10:41 p.m. EST (0341 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore now have the delegates needed to guarantee their 2000 nominations for the presidency, having achieved primary victories Tuesday in Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Louisiana.

Gore can now lay claim to the lion's share of the Democratic delegates in Louisiana, which totaled 61; Tennessee, which totaled 68; Florida, 161; Mississippi, 37; Oklahoma, 45; and Texas, 127. Gore needed 2,170 to grab the Democratic nomination.

Gov. George W. Bush

Of the 566 Democratic delegates in play Tuesday night, Gore secured 512, by CNN estimates.

The vice president also collected a handful of delegates determined during the day's "Democrats Abroad" caucus -- a longstanding voting event that allowed party members living overseas to cast votes.

By CNN estimates, Bush took home all of Florida's Republican delegates, which totaled 80; Mississippi's delegates, which totaled 33; Oklahoma's, 38; Tennessee's, 37; Louisiana's, 29, and those in Texas, which totaled 124. Bush needed 1,034 delegates to gain the Republican nomination.

Polls across the South closed between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Prior to the announcement of Tuesday night's estimates, CNN had estimated that Gore was in possession of 2,063 Democratic delegates, while Bush held 761 Republican delegates.

Both Bush's and Gore's nominations set a record: March 13 is the earliest any Democratic or Republican candidate facing opposition for the presidency has ever been assured a nomination during an election year.

"This primary process ended earlier than ever before," commented CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

The vice president addressed supporters Tuesday night in Tallahassee, Florida -- a Bush family stronghold. George W, Bush's younger brother Jeb occupies the Florida governor's mansion.

"Tonight, the South put us over the top," Gore said. "And this son of the South is never going to forget it."

In a somewhat subdued speech for so momentous an occasion, Gore predicted a "very tough fight" with Bush leading up to the November general election, and said he decided to appear in Florida -- rather than his home state, Tennessee, which also held a Democratic primary Tuesday -- to make a point.

"This is the night that we crossed the delegate threshold," he said. "My presence here is intended to symbolize that Florida will be a key battleground state in the 2000 election. I need your help."

A favorite strategy

Minutes before taking the stage in Tallahassee, the vice president transmitted an e-mail to Bush calling on the Texas governor to drop his television advertising efforts in favor of biweekly issues-based debates and candidate forums.

The electronic letter, which was prefaced with a congratulatory message on Bush's own delegate haul Tuesday night, said Gore would reject the use of soft money and issue advocacy ads if Bush would do the same.

Vice President Al Gore

"These proposals, as you know, would not only help drive special interest money out of politics, but would give the voters a chance to hear our ideas in detail and depth," the e-mail read.

The Gore camp employed the same strategy during the early primary season against his chief Democratic rival, former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley. Bradley categorically refused Gore's challenges -- first leveled prior to the New Hampshire primary -- saying television ads were the only ammunition he had to effectively combat Gore's party establishment-backed campaign.

Appearing on CNN's Larry King Live, Bush said Gore has no credibility on the campaign finance issue. "This is an amazing attempt to cause us to forget the past," Bush said.

"If I believed him, if I thought he was very sincere, I might consider that," Bush said.

Gore said he took that response as positive. "He said if he thought it was a sincere offer, he would accept it," Gore said minutes later on CNN. "I assure you that it is a sincere offer."

"Al Gore can't solve campaign finance problems when he symbolizes them," Bush said later at a victory rally in Austin, the Texas capital. "He can't talk of rebuilding the military when his administration has dismantled our military."

"The differences between me and Vice President Gore are many," Bush continued. "Nowhere is the contrast more clear than when it comes to the need to reform our public schools. Improving public education has been a passion of mine since I've been governor, and it will be a priority of mine when I'm president."

"Tonight we can say 'mission accomplished,' Bush told his supporters. "With the victory comes a sacred duty. Americans want a leader who will raise our sights, Americans want a president who will keep his oath and honor. This is a charge that I will keep."

Gaze cast toward November

The anticlimactic end of Tuesday's Southern primary brings a timid end to the once woolly 2000 primary cycle, though a smattering of state voting events are scheduled through June 6. Each, however, would now seem to be not much more than an exercise in democratic duty.

Decisive wins in last week's "Super Tuesday" primary contests resulted in "presumptive nominee" status for both Bush and Gore, who nonetheless campaigned throughout the South in the last few days with the awareness that the region could play a key role in the November general election.

The vice president is showing increased strength in the Northeast, Midwest and California. The South has been strong for Bush, who serves as governor of the region's largest state.

And while the South has grown increasingly Republican after decades of being a Democratic stronghold, Democrats have exhibited renewed strength there. In 1998, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina elected Democratic governors, and Democrats retained control of the Georgia General Assembly. In 1999, Democrats recaptured the Mississippi governorship.

The region also is undergoing political changes that could make the states of the Old Confederacy presidential battlegrounds this year. Southern states are among the fastest-growing in the country, and transplants from the Northeast and Midwest have changed the political landscape. Big issues now include urban sprawl, traffic, the economy and the environment.

Still, elements of the "Old South" remain intact as significant portions of the bases relied upon by Bush and Gore.

CNN exit polling data gathered Tuesday indicates that the Democrats can still rely on the African-American population of the region, while the so-called religious right is firmly in the Republican corner.

According to CNN's Schneider, 93 percent of the African-Americans polled at voting places across the region Tuesday voted for Gore, while 95 percent of voters who considered themselves as leaning toward the religious right voted for Bush.

Tuesday's contests took place in heavily populated states where fully 20 percent of the nation's electorate resides. However, the six primaries suffered significantly from low turnout.

"There's just no interest in this election," said Michael Garner, a Democratic poll worker in Mississippi, earlier on Tuesday.

Indeed, poll workers outnumbered voters at some polling places Tuesday morning.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.