DOLE REPLACES CAMPAIGN ADVISERS.

Byline: John King Associated Press 

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has decided to replace his top strategist and fire his lead pollster in an effort to revive his struggling presidential campaign, sources said Sunday. The shake-up comes after back-to-back defeats that have the once overwhelming GOP front-runner battling for survival.

The moves follow weeks of often bitter turmoil within the Dole campaign over strategy and advertising. Dole made the personnel decisions late Saturday after being told he would lose Delaware's presidential primary to Steve Forbes - despite being assured earlier that he was leading in the state and likely to win.

The dramatic internal campaign reorganization is but one reflection of the urgent mood within the Dole camp. After a razor-thin victory in Iowa, Dole has now run second in New Hampshire and Delaware and is in a tight race here in Arizona, where polls show a narrow Dole lead. GOP activists, however, give Pat Buchanan solid odds of winning Tuesday's primary.

In the shake-up, pollster William McInturff and his firm, Public Opinion Strategies, will no longer be given any Dole campaign business, according to campaign sources who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

William Lacy, a longtime Dole adviser, was told he was being removed as chief strategist with control over polling, advertising and other campaign media, the sources said. Lacy was told he could stay in and keep his title as deputy campaign chairman, but that he would lose most of his authority, the sources said. It was unclear Sunday night whether he would stay with the campaign in a diminished status.

The top strategy role was turned over to Don Sipple, a veteran GOP consultant who joined the Dole campaign after California Gov. Pete Wilson quit the race last year. Sipple has been frustrated for months as his advice was ignored or overruled by Lacy. Media consultant Stuart Stevens will remain a member of the Dole team but report to Sipple instead of Lacy, the sources said.

Sipple's first order of business is to rush into production positive TV ads promoting Dole, the sources said.

Pollster Tony Fabrizio, who was already doing some campaign work, will became the lead pollster, the sources said. Dole campaign manager Scott Reed is considering bringing in additional polling help, with Michigan-based Fred Steeper the likely choice.

Reed pushed for the changes Saturday after receiving word of the Delaware results, and Dole approved them, according to the sources. Reed flew back to Washington from Arizona and informed Lacy. Others who urged major changes in the operation included New Hampshire Gov. Steve Merrill, who is Dole's national campaign chairman, and former Minnesota Rep. Vin Weber, a prominent campaign spokesman and adviser.

The work of McInturff and Lacy has been the subject of campaign turmoil for several weeks. Reed and others have complained within the campaign that McInturff's polling has regularly shown Dole to be in better shape than the results on election day. As for Lacy, critics within the Dole organization blame him for a campaign advertising approach that has been widely criticized in Republican circle.

Political Update

Sunday's developments on the presidential campaign trail:

The Candidates:

Lamar Alexander: Referring to Pat Buchanan's stint as a co-host of CNN's "Crossfire," Alexander said, "I think Buchananism belongs on 'Crossfire.' It doesn't belong in the White House. And Pat Buchanan as the president of the United States is not a serious idea."

Pat Buchanan: Tuesday's primary in Arizona is too close to call, Buchanan said, and he suggested the stakes were highest for Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., who was stung by Buchanan in New Hampshire and lost Delaware to Steve Forbes. Asked what would happen to Dole, the once overwhelming front-runner, if he lost again, Buchanan said: "If he loses Arizona, I think the Dole campaign goes on life support."

Bob Dole: Traveling to the outskirts of Phoenix, Dole made a pilgrimage to the home of 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater. Goldwater, 87, gave Dole his blessings and predicted a victory for him Tuesday. Meanwhile, Dole asserted that he was still the man to beat, despite primary losses in New Hampshire and Delaware.

Steve Forbes: Fresh from a win in Delaware's Saturday primary, the Forbes campaign was making a major television advertising push in Arizona as well, hoping to reverse his recent slide in polls there. "We're in for the duration and we're building each step of the way," Forbes said after attending a church service in Phoenix on Sunday.

News of Note:

All of the GOP contenders condemned Cuba's downing of two small American planes and most also called on President Clinton to get tough with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. "It's got to be U.S. policy to remove Fidel Castro from power," Buchanan said, adding that he wasn't calling for a U.S. invasion of the island. "It's time for President Clinton to do more than seek Castro's explanation. It's time for the White House to get on the side of democratic change in Cuba," said Dole.

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POLITICAL UPDATE (see text)