Bush Dominates GOP Contests

George W. Bush swept elections in three states Tuesday, placing himself in a comfortable position for next week's 13-state Super Tuesday bonanza. He defeated John McCain in Virginia, North Dakota and Washington.

The first two were expected, but the win on the West Coast must have come as a relief for Bush, as Washington's voters are independent and unpredictable, the sort who might take a fancy to a maverick candidate.

However, McCain came away with some bragging rights of his own. McCain finished first in a separate, unaffiliated ballot that listed all candidates from both parties. And he trailed Bush by a narrow margin in the total popular vote. McCain won handily among voters who didn't declare a party preference getting 41 percent of the vote. Twenty-two percent picked Bush, 20 percent Gore and 13 percent Bradley.

The evening's richest prize, 56 delegates, came from the southeast. Conservative, religious and Republican, the state of Virginia gave Bush an expected, but necessary win Tuesday night. Bush was also an easy winner in Tuesday's North Dakota caucuses.

"I've got some good news from the commonwealth of Virginia," Bush trumpeted to a noisy crowd in Cincinnati, Ohio. "Tonight, the people of that state sent a message they want George W. Bush to be the Republican nominee for president of the United States."

When the Virginia results came in, McCain was in California. He dismissed Bush's victoy as part of a "Southern strategy," and said he was "looking forward to Super Tuesday, when we have a broad section" of Americans going to the polls.

McCain added that, "Most people in Super Tuesday states are not going to be affected by what happens in Virginia, or Washington, to tell you the truth."

Virginia's primary, like those in Michigan, New Hampshire and South Carolina, was open to all voters. But that was no help to McCain, because the state's conservatives didn't cotton to his maverick appeal. Twenty-nine percent of primary voters, according to CBS News exit polls, identified themselves as independents, and they went heavily for McCain. But 63 percent of Virginians were self-described Republicans, and 69 percent of them chose Bush.

About 55 percent of Virginian voters called themselves somewhat or very conservative, and 69 percent of them preferred Bush.

Although it came only a day before the primary, McCain's vigorous attack against conservative Christian leaders Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell may well have hurt him. Virginia, which is Robertson's home, was unlikely ever to embrace McCain. And while only about one in five voters there described themselves as part of "the religious right," those who did voted overwhelmingly for Bush.

Bush, who has faulted McCain for introducing religion into the primary race, said Tuesday night that "the voters of Virginia rejected the politics of any one religion against another."

There are other sobering notes for McCain - suggestions that his message may be failing. By a slim margin, more voters said in exit polls they thought of Bush as a real reformer moreso than McCain. The two candidates have waged a bitter rhetorical battle over that title.

Bush even split the veterans' vote with McCain, a former Vietnam POW. Worse yet, for a candidate who congratulates himself for running a positive campaign, almost half the voters thought McCain had unfairly attacked Bush, while only about a third thought Bush had returned the favor.

As expected, Bush was the overwhelming choice in North Dakota's caucuses. If he won every state as convincingly as that one, he'd have no worries; he whipped McCain 76 percent to 19 percent.

It was Washington that provided the suspense for the evening. Tuesday's complicated primary allowed everyone to vote, but only voters who chose a ballot marked "Republican," as opposed to "Unaffiliated" or "Democratic" had a say in choosing 12 delegates for the GOP convention. Caucus-goers next week will choose the remaining 25 delegates.

As in the past, it was the voters who billed themselves as Republicans who carried the day for Bush. Early returns showed Republicans flocking to Bush, although his margin of victory may not be clear for several hours.

There was some solace, though, for McCain. He fared better among unaffiliated voters, who outnumbered both Republicans and Democrats. But the unaffiliated ballotdidn't count toward delegates. A similar system exists in California, which votes next week.

Both McCain and Bradley had hoped Washington's free-thinking voters would respond to their campaigns. Despite disappointing losses Tuesday, McCain still enjoys an aura of legitimacy. For the former professional basketball player, the shot-clock is running out of ticks. Bradley gambled that a win in the state's beauty contest primary would earn him momentum, if not delegates. He spent the better part of a week there, ignoring states like New York, which might have offered a better prospect for victory, and drawing criticism from some supporters.

The two Democratic contenders are scheduled to debate Wednesday night in Los Angeles at 9 p.m. ET on CNN. Bradley is also preparing to argue his case directly to the nation in a paid, five-minute network appearance on CBS Thursday night, the same night of a scheduled Republican debate, which will be conducted via satellite.