SENATOR Bob Dole's rivals for the 1996 Republican presidential nomination began to fall away yesterday after his eight out of eight sweep of Republican primaries on Tuesday, which made him virtually unbeatable.
Former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander and Indiana Senator Richard Lugar announced they were withdrawing from the race and throwing their support behind Mr Dole.
Only Mr Patrick Buchanan, who has been conducting a nationalist and protectionist campaign, and publisher Steve Forbes who promotes a flat income tax, remain as significant challengers.
They have, however, fallen far behind in committed delegates. After winning Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Colorado, Rhode Island and Vermont on "Junior Tuesday", Mr Dole has amassed 276 of the 996 committed delegates' needed to win the nomination. Mr Forbes has 69 and Mr Buchanan 51.
Mr Forbes joyfully announced yesterday the endorsement of Mr Jack Kemp, a prominent advocate of conservative economic policies. Mr Kemp represented New York in Congress and is a popular ex player for the Buffalo Bills' football team.
But a fistful of new endorsements came in for Mr Dole, including that of former President George Bush and his son, Governor George Bush of Texas, one of the big states in next week's "Super Tuesday".
Most Republican politicians and voters, and several foreign governments, heaved a sigh of relief yesterday as the moderate, inclusive and pro trade campaign of Mr Dole sailed into calm waters after a rough ride in the early primaries.
Europe in particular had been deeply worried by the isolationist policies of Mr Buchanan. EU diplomats in Washington say their governments are more comfortable with Mr Dole, who belongs to a more acceptable foreign policy tradition.
Mr Buchanan said he would stay in the race to push the party towards his socially conservative agenda. The former columnist is however, likely to suffer a further set back in the New York Republican primary today, where almost 100 delegates are at stake.
A poll yesterday showed Mr Dole with 48 per cent of Republican support in New York, Mr Forbes with 19 per cent and Mr Buchanan 15 per cent. Mr Forbes, who is spending some 53 million on television commercials in New York, is on all ballot papers but Mr Buchanan is on only two thirds of them.
Party leaders greeted Mr Dole's Tuesday sweep as evidence that the ugly, divisive battle for the party's soul - and presidential nomination - is now more or less over. With the presidential election 34 weeks away, Speaker Newt Gingrich said of Mr Dole: "I think it's over. I think he's the nominee."
A jubilant Senator Dole beamed as followers chanted "Dole! Dole! Dole 96!" at a Washington victory party. "Tonight we've proven the pundits wrong; tonight we've proven the Republican party is not spinning apart but we're coming together."
In bowing out of the campaign, Mr Alexander (55) said he had been asking people "Is Senator Dole the man that Republicans want carrying our banner against Bill Clinton and leading us into the next century?" and he had discovered the answer was "Yes".
Mr Alexander finished no better than third in any primary. He said he was not interested in becoming anyone's vice presidential running mate.
In the tightest contest on Tuesday, Mr Dole won 40-30 over Mr Buchanan in Georgia, with Mr Alexander and Mr Forbes trailing at 13 and 12 percent.