Evening star., 1952-02-03
Taft Seems to Have Upper Hand
Over Eisenhower in West Now
By Jock Bell
Assoeiated Press Stuff Writer

are cnallengmg senator 1aIL
|tightly-knit organization Of old
line Republicans for support Of tn
West in their rival bids for tn
@. o. P. presidential nomination
At the moment, survey cover
ing IA States indicated to thi
reporter that. in the overall
Senator Taft has the upper hand
But there is a latent sentimen
for Gen. Eisenhower that nigh
carry him forward In rapid strides
In the next few weeks.
The IA States, in the Far West
Rocky Mountains and the South.
west. will cast 282 votes at tht
Republican nominating convention
in Chicago next July. This is {
little short Of half Of the so:
votes needed for a nomination.
AS the situation now stands
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho. Mon.
tana, Utah and Washington car
be counted as predominant,
favorable to Senator Taft. They
cast 90 votes, but unless con.
ditions change. Gen. Eisenhower
will get only a relative few o.
them.
Two States Sewed Up.
The Eisenhower forces ap.
parently have Kansas. 20 votes
and Oregon, 10 votes, largely ir
their pockets.
The two candidates seem te
have about equal strength in Mis-
souri,, Nevada. New Mexico. Okla.
homa and Wyoming, which cast 9
total If 80 votes. Gen. Eisenhower
may lead in one State and SEN
ator Taft in another. but the
overall average about balances.
California, with the largest sin.
gle bloc of 70 votes. will cast them
all for Gov. Earl Warren of Cali
fornia on the first ballot. More
of them would be likely to go tc
Gen. Eisenhower than to Senator
Taft If Gov. Warren can't make
the grade.
In the same 14-State area
Truman's stock seems
even lower than it was at this
same stage Of the campaign -four
years ago.
Democratic Possibilities.
Most of the Democrats in the
West will line up behind the
President If he runs, figuring that
It is no use to buck the tide, but
many Of them would like to have
another nominee.
Names most frequently men,
toned as a possible Democratic
nominee. if the President doesn't
run, include Senator Kefauver OF
Tennessee, Gov. Adlai Stevenson
Of Illinois and Senator Kerr o1
Oklahoma. Senator Kerr's support
Is mostly around his home State
Of Oklahoma.
In that State something /.
happening which, if it develop.
into a general trend. could have
wide effect on the Republican
presidential picture.
In Oklahoma, younger member,
Of the party threaten to upset
the old line organization which
had been lining the State up fol
Senator Taft, and may force {
split which could give Gen. Eisen.
hover a majority of the 16 vote!
Issue To Be Settled Soon.
The issue will be settled with
the final choice of delegates at 9
February. IL State convention.
This is the kind of thing the
Eisenhower people have been hop
Ing might happen all over the
West. But it hasn't yet materi-
alized-and may never-in other
areas.
The Oklahoma surge came after
Gen, Eisenhower announced he
was q Republican and available
Tor the nomination. It represent
I'd the first concrete evidence the
generals reputed popularity among
the common folk might be trans
ated into convention ballots.
In the west, the feeling among
many Republicans who favor him
still is that Gen. Eisenhower won't
get the nomination unless he gets
out Of uniform several weeks be-
tore the convention and speaks
out on top issues.
Popular With People.
However, Gen. Eisenhower's
with the people is at
Tested to by Democrats. as well as
Republicans.
In California, q Democratic Of
licial said:
Eisenhower would carry Cali
'ornia over any Democrat. Taft
would be the easier man to beat
here, because labor would CAM
oaign hardest against him and
hats what we have to have here
10 win"
In Oklahoma, a Democratic
awyer said he thinks Sen. Taft
would get;eonservative Democratic
1otes, where Gen. Eisenhower
would not because his views are
not well enough spelled out. How
ever, Richard Neuberger, Oregon
Democratic State senator, con-
ended the General has that con-
;ervative support already.
An Oklahoma Republican off,
,ial said Gen. Eisenhower appeals
% a wider Democratic audience
1ow than Sen. Taft, "but things
night be a lot different by next
July"
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