Reagan's Startling Texas Landslide

"For weeks," cracked Ronald Reagan, "I've been whistling 'Nothin' could be finer than to be in Carolina.' I hope I can soon whistle 'The eyes of Texas are upon you.'"

He was not only able to whistle it, he sang it over the phone from Indiana to his supporters gathered at a victory party in Houston. By early Sunday it was clear that Reagan had won the Texas primary in a startling landslide. He would probably win every one of the 96 delegates elected to the Republican National Convention and President Ford none at all. At best, in late returns, Ford could hope to salvage a few delegates. Reagan was ahead in the popular vote by some 2 to 1.

The Californian owed much of his victory to conservative Democrats who crossed over to vote Republican. Said G.O.P. Senator John Tower, Ford's Texas campaign chairman: "The Reagan organization, aided by former Wallace leaders, made a concerted and obviously successful effort to get Wallaceites into the Republican primary to support Governor Reagan." Even though the outcome was distorted by Democratic votes, it will provoke many agonizing doubts among campaign strategists at the White House.

Reagan had been favored to prevail in Texas, where nothing succeeds like conservative politics with a touch of cussedness. President Ford tried his best to be just as conservative and just as cussed, but Texans were obviously not convinced. In giving Reagan their votes, they also gave him a dramatic reprieve in his uphill fight for the nomination and delivered a jolting setback to Ford. Until Texas, he had been far ahead of Reagan in firm delegates, 268 to 137 (needed to nominate: 1,130).

Hard Issues. Reagan's victory seems to indicate that his Southern strategy is beginning to work. In eight primaries before Texas, he won only in North Carolina, losing to Ford not only hi the North but also in Florida. He was counting on a rebound in the string of Southern primaries and caucuses in April and May. He did better than expected in Arizona. Even though Senator Barry Goldwater supported the President, Reagan won 27 of the 29 delegates chosen at last week's G.O.P. state convention. At the same time he picked up eleven of the 16 delegates in the Kentucky caucuses. He is well ahead in this week's Georgia and Alabama primaries. While Ford had been considered leading in Arkansas and Tennessee, which hold primaries on May 25, Reagan's Texas win will give him a chance of overtaking the President there. With such victories, he would be a real challenger.

In Texas, Reagan's organization could not rival Ford's--an important consideration in a state where the Republican Party is organized haphazardly, if at all. In 44 of the state's 254 counties, Republicans simply cannot vote in the primaries because there are no polling booths for them. The President's staff installed central phone banks in 26 counties where some 88% of the G.O.P. vote is concentrated. Ford also outspent Reagan--$450,000 to $250,000; candidates for the Reagan slate, however, spent heavily on their own races.

But Reagan had the issues, and he played them for all they were worth. National security was one of Reagan's big winners. He charged that the U.S. had fallen dangerously behind the Soviet Union in military strength. He accused Secretary of State Henry Kissinger of "bowing and scraping" before the Russians because he had no faith in the American people and wanted to accommodate to what he considered to be the Red wave of the future. Now Ford will be under increasing pressure from right-wing Republicans and a faction in the White House to dump Kissinger.

Reagan attacked Ford for cutting back on military bases and post offices while continuing to subsidize the United Nations. The U.S. contribution should be reduced at once, said Reagan. He also accused the President of planning to give away the Panama Canal to a "tinhorn dictator friend of Fidel Castro's. Personally, I would tell this jerk we bought it, we paid for it, and we are going to keep it." Ford replied that he had no intention of "giving away" the canal.

In a state where oil is king, Reagan also lambasted the bill signed by Ford in 1975 to roll back the price of domestic oil and to remove the $2-per-bbl. tariff on imported oil. Reagan called for a repeal of the bill and an end to all price controls so that the U.S. would produce more oil and rely less on imports from the Middle East. "How many Texans will lose their jobs?" he demanded. "How many Texas plants will be closed during the next oil embargo?" In the oil-rich Panhandle, some producers felt betrayed by the President. "We thought Ford said he would veto the bill," complained an oil operator. "So a lot of us contracted for rigs, paid bonuses, leased land, and were ready to go. We had bet on him and we lost."

Breezy Candor. The President had his family working for him. Son Jack, 24, stumped the state with a breezy candor. With the Citizen's Band radio in her car, Betty found a new medium to project the Ford message (see MODERN LIVING). A fascinated Texas press picked up every word uttered by "First Mama." Reagan's family was less in evidence but equally hardworking. His wife Nancy spent six days in Texas, appearing on radio and TV interviews. Son Ron, 17, joined the press bus to gather information for a political science paper he was writing for school.

Conspicuously absent from Reagan's campaign--or Ford's --was any salute to the last Republican elected President. Ford did not even mention Nixon's name, substituting instead "my predecessor" or "Lyndon Johnson's successor." Explained the President: "It is better for all of us just not to remind ourselves of that unfortunate period."

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