POLITICS: Conventions

Bob Taft confidently predicted last winter that he would win 19 or 20 of the state of Washington's 24 delegates. Then the Eisenhower forces went to work. They turned up last week in Spokane with a solid majority of the state convention delegates. The Taft minority threatened to walk out and hold a rump convention of their own. After ten hours of the stormiest politicking the state could remember, the issue was settled by the Ike majority electing 20 delegates, granting 4 to Taft.

Other convention results last week:

¶ At the Maryland convention, the 24 delegates elected were instructed to vote on the first ballot at Chicago for Governor Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin, who is said to be seeking the nomination for Vice President. McKeldin is expected to throw about 18 of them to Eisenhower, while 6 go to Taft.

¶ In Montana, Taft's lines held firm. Eisenhower won just one of the state's 8 delegates.

¶ At Democratic conventions last week in North Carolina, Delaware and Montana, and this week in Missouri, the party machines were generally in comfortable control. Estes Kefauver, the front runner by far in the primary votes to date, managed to pick up only 2 Chicago votes from the no delegates chosen (with 84 votes). Senator Russell got 19½ votes (all in North Carolina), Stevenson 7½, Kerr 1, Barkley 2½, Harriman 2. The remaining 492 votes were uncommitted.