Delegates given back to jubilant McGovern

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32966, 12 July 1972, Page 17

Delegates given back to jubilant McGovern

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright} MIAMI BEACH, July 11. Senator George McGovern, favourite to win the Democratic Presidential nomination, won a maj'or test of strength early today when the party convention voted to return to him 151 crucial Californian delegates.

The vote all but guarantees him the Presidential nomination on the first ballot tomorrow night. But the voting tally was 1618 to 1238 in favour of seating the McGovern delegates. Senator McGovern needs only 1509 votes to win the Presidential nomination tomorrow. Mrs McGovern who was

watching from a box on the convention floor, told reporters that she thought the vote wrapped up the nomination for her husband. The actual balloting for the nomination, she added, would be an anti-climax. The California votes had been stripped from Senator McGovern by the party credentials committee after he had won all 271 delegates’ votes in the state primary

election on a winner-take-all basis. Senator McGovern was left with 120 of the votes and the remainder were distributed among other candidates on a proportional basis. Senator McGovern has long maintained that he can win the Presidential nomination with the return of the 151. Senator McGovern said in a statement from his hotel: “It would now seem that the nomination victory we have anticipated is within our grasp. "I am gratified but not surprised that the rule of law and the rule of fairness have been upheld. “I never really doubted the essential fairness of the delegates and I know the American people will applaud the sense of justice manifested here.” The South Dakota senator was jubilant as he watched the outcome on television. While the tense balloting was under way, he sat quietly and puffed on a cigar. When he had won he shook hands and received the congratulations of his staff. One of Senator Humphrey’s campaign managers, Senator Vance Hartke, was asked later by reporters if it seemed almost certain that Senator McGovern would win the nomination and replied: “It’s a big step in that direction.” Amid general jubilation in the McGovern camp, Senators Frank Church, of Idaho, and Alan Cranston of California, said that Senator McGovern was now on his way to victory. . On the convention floor, the result was greeted with cheers and yelling from McGovern supporters and groans and catcalls from his opponents. Immediately the outcome became clear, delegates supporting Senator McGovern’s rivals appealed against the vote on the grounds that the party chairman, Mr Lawrence O’Brien, had issued faulty rulings concerning the balloting. Mr O’Brien had said that disputed delegates could not vote on challenges involving them, but that other members of their delegation could vote. He also ruled that the motion could be carried out by a majority of delegates eligible to vote—l433 —and

did not need the full convention majority of 1509. Mr O’Brien denied the challenge to his rulings and then agreed to put the motion to overrule him to a vote. The convention voted by 1689 to 1162 to reject the challenge to Mr O’Brien, further strengthening Senator McGovern’s position. Senator McGovern did even better than many of his supporters had predicted when the convention opened last night to the sound of brass bands, and massed choirs under thousands of glaring arc lights. The vote which put him over the required majority of 1433 was cast by New York. It cast 267 out of 278 votes for Senator McGovern. But it was Pennsylvania which had the honour of ensuring that he would go over the nomination majority—lso9.