DOLE'S ON TOP AGAIN\10 contests this week follow S. Carolina win.

Byline: John King Associated Press 

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole reignited his presidential campaign Saturday with an overwhelming victory in the South Carolina Republican primary - the springboard to a critical series of contests over the next 10 days.

"A new beginning," Dole said in an interview as he celebrated a decisive win after several embarrassing early losses. He said he again considers himself the front-runner, a mantle he lost two weeks ago in New Hampshire.

So solid was Dole's victory in a bellwether GOP state that House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested Dole could virtually seal the nomination in the 10 contests this week. Eager to bring peace to the cantankerous nomination chase, Gingrich advised several lagging candidates to face reality and quit.

"If Senator Dole has the kind of Tuesday he is capable of, I think he will clearly be the presumptive front-runner on a pretty big scale," Gingrich said in an interview with the Associated Press.

With 96 percent of the South Carolina precincts counted, Dole had 45 percent to 30 percent for Pat Buchanan and 13 percent for publisher Steve Forbes. Former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander was at 11 percent, a weak showing in his home region.

There was also a GOP contest Saturday in Wyoming, where Dole picked up at least five delegates at county conventions.

Dole defeated Buchanan by siphoning support among the voter blocs that had been more loyal to his fiery rival in earlier states, including Perot backers and religious conservatives. Indeed, Dole ran evenly among those who identified themselves as members of the religious right.

Gingrich said bluntly that Alexander and Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar, who didn't campaign in South Carolina, "are basically out of it" and should consider bowing out. Alexander rejected the advice, but is likely to think again if Tuesday comes and goes without his landing in the win column.

For Dole, victory set the table for a potentially decisive week. He could lead in the 10 states up next, nine Tuesday and New York on Thursday, which would place him in position to take command of the race after a stumbling start. "I think this will give us a big boost for a big week," Dole said in a phone interview from his campaign plane.

In Tuesday's contests, Forbes is targeting Connecticut and Colorado, and the Dole camp is nervous about Buchanan in Colorado, Georgia and Vermont. The other "Junior Tuesday" states are Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington. Forbes is promising a big advertising push as he tries to stall Dole's momentum Thursday in New York's primary.

The election was a blow to Buchanan, whose prospects depend on carrying Southern states where his cultural conservatism sells well. Buchanan told a rally in Maine he would press on. "We've still got a fighting chance to win this nomination," he said.

Forbes labeled his a "respectable showing."

Because of their previous wins, Gingrich said Buchanan and Forbes were viable candidates "to hang in there two or three weeks to see if anyone can dislodge Dole." Dole was looking ahead with confidence and, like Gingrich, suggesting it was quitting time for the laggards.

"The sooner we can narrow the field, the sooner we can focus on beating Bill Clinton," Dole said.

There was also a GOP contest Saturday in Wyoming, where Dole picked up at least five delegates at county conventions.

Dole won all 37 of South Carolina's delegates and moved to the top of the Associated Press delegate count with 77. Forbes was next at 60 with Buchanan at 37. The big states were just ahead, with 996 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

South Carolina GOP Chairman Henry McMaster, who has questioned Dole's strength in the past, called Dole's win a landslide. "He should win most of the Southern primaries, most of the Western primaries; he'll get the nomination and he'll get elected," McMaster preFdicted.

About 7 in 10 voters described themselves as moderate or somewhat conservative, and those people voted for Dole 2-to-1 over Buchanan.

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PHOTO

Photo Bob Dole enters a rally at Husson College in Bangor, Maine, on Saturday. Maine is one of Tuesday's nine primary states. Associated Press