BUCHANAN SAYS BACKERS LIKELY TO BOLT DOLE-LED GOP.

Byline: Mike Glover Associated Press

Pat Buchanan, heading to the Mexican border to demonstrate his opposition to illegal immigration, warned Wednesday that his devoted backers are "deeply alienated" from the Republican Party and ripe for the picking by Ross Perot.

"Bob Dole has no reach for these people," said Buchanan. "Like it or not, Ross Perot has reach with these people."

Buchanan made his comments after Texas billionaire Perot said he might run for president, as he did in 1992, if his Reform Party calls on him. About the same time, the U.S. Taxpayers Party invited Buchanan to top its independent ticket in a nationwide effort to get on November ballots.

Campaign manager Bay Buchanan said her brother is committed to running as a Republican through the national GOP convention this summer. "No decision has been made" about the overture from the Taxpayers Party, she said.

"That is not something we've agreed to or I've talked to Howard formally about," she said, alluding to Howard Phillips, an executive with the Taxpayers Party. "This is something he's always wanted us to do."

Though Senate Majority Leader Dole has the GOP presidential nomination in hand, he is faced with a devoted core of conservatives following Buchanan, campaigning heavily in California ahead of its primary Tuesday.

Buchanan, speaking with reporters, said the Kansas senator won the nomination by capturing the GOP establishment, but that won't be good enough in November.

"The Republican Party has a very, very serious situation," said Buchanan. "It appears to be moving down the same road as 1992."