Bush Wins In Iowa

George W. Bush cemented his front-runner status Saturday night with a convincing victory in the Iowa straw poll, passing an early test of political potency that could unravel other Republican presidential campaigns.

Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Dole finished a close second and third. Weak showings by former Vice President Dan Quayle and Lamar Alexander staggered their campaigns.

Alexander, the former Tennessee governor, is almost certain to drop out of the race.

A total of nine White House hopefuls poured millions of dollars and spent hundreds of hours in this initial caucus state to test their political strength.

"This victory today in Iowa put me on the road to winning the nomination of the Republican Party," declared Bush, who was criticized by nearly every one of his rivals in their addresses earlier Saturday.

Forbes, who had hoped for better results, found a measure of solace in "the fact that two-thirds of the voters did not vote for" Bush.

Though no straw poll winner ever has won the GOP nomination, the contest has helped and hurt any number of candidacies ahead of the first real votes of the campaign season, the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

Introduced amid a burst of fireworks, patriotic tunes and a spray of balloons, Forbes didn't mention Bush by name but took steady aim at the Texas governor. "The power of these Washington elites won't be tamed, bent or broken by a candidate who relies on pollsters and tutors to tell him what he thinks," he told a capacity straw poll crowd numbering more than 24,000.

Taking a higher road, Bush called his rivals "fine candidates" and stuck to his standard speech -- delivered with little passion. "Together, we will prove that someone who is conservative and compassionate can win without sacrificing principles," he said.

Bush received nearly one third of the vote, or 7,418.

Forbes' second-place finish was solid but somewhat disappointing. Having outspent the entire field, the millionaire conservative had hoped to show his money and message made him a serious vote-getter. He earned 4,921 votes.

Elizabeth Dole, former president of the American Red Cross, had 3,410 a solid showing for a first-time presidential candidate trying to expand the party's base to include more young and professional women.

Alexander, with 1,428 votes, and Quayle, with 816 votes and an eighth-place finish, were the night's biggest disappointments.

Quayle has said the straw poll would not end his presidential quest, but his finish behind three other conservative contenders -- Gary Bauer, Pat Buchanan and Alan Keyes -- could dry up his fund-raising sources.

Bush supporters declared that the victory solidifies his standing as the GOP front-runner. They suggested that the results should thin the field.

"I think that, though this is not a scientific process and even though some demen it, you just have to take stock of where you are, whether you can raise the money and whether you can continue," said Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, one of Bush's closest political allies. He was in Iowa to campaign for the Texas governor.