Kennedy beats Carter again

Press, 24 April 1980, Page 8

Kennedy beats Carter again

NZPA Philadelphia Senator Edward Kennedy WO n a narrow victory over President Carter in yesterday’s Pennsylvania Democratic, Presidential primary, matching the upset forged by [the former Central Intelligence Agency chief George Bush, in his Republican duel .with Ronald Reagan. Senator Kennedy had I claimed victory early in die ' evening but later amended his statement to say only I that he was “really quite I optimistic.” I However later, with 84 per cent of the Democratic precincts counted, Senator Kennedy’s edge was almost 30,000 votes out of 1.2 million cast. The senator had 47 per cent of the vote to 45 per cent for the President. On the Republican side, Mr Bush kept his candidacy barely alive by beating the front-runner, Ronald Reagan, in the beauty-contest part of the Republican primary.

But Mr Reagan was expec ted to win most of the con vention delegates at stake in separate balloting and he declared that this is-what counted. He now says he has 90 per cent of the delegates he * needs to win the nomination v Mr Carter, who defeated Senator Kennedy in ten of the 13 primaries before Pennsylvania, was caught in a vice of public anger over inflation and unemployment and his own failure to campaign because of the Iranian hostage crisis. '. .

Even without leaving, the White House, tire President fought a bruising battle with Mr Kennedy in Pennsylvania. - '

Mr Carter sent busloads of surrogates into the state and bombarded television screens with advertisements suggesting Mr Kennedy was a man not to be trusted.

For his part, Mr Kennedy developed a stump speech that mocked the President in almost every line.