Big day of primaries pivotal to candidates

Presidential contenders hustle for votes LOS ANGELES - A rolling national primary, sweeping east to west Tuesday, could settle the Democratic presidential race and decisively

Tuesday, March 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Presidential contenders hustle for votes

LOS ANGELES - A rolling national primary, sweeping east to west Tuesday, could settle the Democratic presidential race and decisively tip the seesaw Republican contest.
Never before have so many states voted together so early in the nominating process. And with New York and California as bookends, the candidates have been scrambling for support.

Democrat Al Gore leads rival Bill Bradley in polls in virtually all the states and, on the GOP side, George W. Bush is holding off John McCain in most of the larger states. Monday, the Democrats campaigned in New York and the Republicans in California.

More than half the delegates needed for the presidential nomination in each party are at stake Tuesday: 1,315 for the Democrats in 15 states and American Samoa, and 613 for the Republicans in 13 states.

Mr. Bradley, who has yet to win any of the early contests, has said he must "take off" Tuesday in his race with Mr. Gore. But some Democrats say the former senator from New Jersey probably will end his quest if he has another poor showing.

An uphill battle

"The current system rewards entrenched power," Mr. Bradley said Sunday, explaining his uphill battle.

"I knew that going in," he said. "I don't have any complaints."

For Mr. McCain, Tuesday's voting is pivotal, if not decisive. "A seminal event," the Arizona senator calls it.

Mr. McCain, drawing support from independents and Democrats, has won New Hampshire, Michigan and Arizona. And Mr. Bush, with the solid backing of the GOP establishment, has won Iowa, Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia, North Dakota and Washington state.

But the open Republican primaries that allow crossover voters have nearly run their course, and Mr. McCain is facing tough fights across the country.

Mr. Bush leads in polling in six of the eight big states voting Tuesday, including California. In New York, Mr. Bush has been edging ahead in a tight, bitterly fought race. Mr. McCain leads comfortably in the polls only in several New England states with relatively few delegates.

'Expectation game'

To keep his insurgent campaign afloat, analysts say Mr. McCain must sweep New England on Tuesday, squeeze out victories in New York and perhaps Ohio, and win at least the nonbinding, anybody-can-vote beauty contest in California.

"A lot of it is the expectation game," Mr. McCain said. "Frankly, being a little bit behind in some of these polls is probably helpful to us," he said, because doing better means exceeding expectations.

The biggest prize is California, with 367 Democratic and 162 GOP delegates. All the candidates are competing there, but only Democratic votes will count toward Democratic delegates and Republican votes for Republican delegates.

The nation's largest state moved its primary up from June to have an earlier, stronger voice in the nominating process. And now, there's little question of its clout.