EESBURG, Va. - Texas Governor George W. Bush swept all three Republican contests yesterday, regaining momentum in his presidential bid against Senator John McCain. Bush used a strong showing among religious conservatives to win Virginia, and capped off his night by taking the Washington state primary and the North Dakota caucus.
On the Democratic side in Washington, Vice President Al Gore beat former Senator Bill Bradley, who spent much of the past week campaigning in the state in hopes of reviving his candidacy. The Democrats now set their sights on the 16-state primary and caucus blitz next Tuesday, the climax of the foreshortened political season and perhaps the day the Democratic nominee will emerge.
Meanwhile, Bush's sweep of the three GOP contests yesterday, with 87 delegates at stake, set the stage for next week's 613-delegate ''Super Tuesday'' round of GOP primaries and caucuses that stretch from California to New England.
In Virginia, with all precincts reporting, Bush had 53 percent and McCain 44 percent. Former ambassador Alan Keyes ran a distant third with 3 percent. In North Dakota, with all votes tallied, Bush received 76 percent, McCain 19 percent, and Keyes 5 percent.
In Washington, Bush led by 58 to 38 percent with about 55 percent of the vote counted and was projected to be the winner by CNN and the Associated Press. The loss in Washington was particularly tough for McCain, who had hoped to do well in the moderate state.
Washington voters had the choice of three ballots: Democratic, Republican, or a generic ballot that included the names of the candidates from both parties. Only the Republican ballot was actually related to delegate selection. That means that even if McCain won the generic ballot, as early returns suggested he might, Bush won the delegates by taking the Republican vote.
Bush was reported to have gone to sleep before the Washington results were announced shortly before midnight and did not issue a public comment.
Bush's night got off to a good start with his Virginia victory, which won him all of that state's 56 delegates, and provided a boost to a campaign still reeling from losses to McCain a week ago in Michigan and Arizona.
''Tonight, in an open primary, by a solid margin... the voters of Virginia rejected the politics of pitting one religion against another,'' Bush told a rally in Cincinnati. ''This campaign is winning, and we are doing it the right way.
''Tonight, we are one step closer to victory,'' an ebullient Bush added.
McCain, after calling Bush to congratulate him for the Virginia victory, played down the results, saying before the Washington and North Dakota results were announced that Bush is relying on a Southern strategy.
''I congratulate him on his victory,'' McCain said. ''It seems as if he has a Southern strategy here, doing well in Southern states. And we'll look forward to Super Tuesday, when we have a broad cross section of America voting, all on that same day.''
''We were way behind in Virginia all along. I don't think it has much effect at all,'' McCain said. ''Most people in Super Tuesday states are not going to be affected by Virginia and Washington.''
Bush, speaking to reporters as he traveled last night from Ohio to Georgia, scoffed at McCain's suggestion that he can only win in Southern states.
''He needs to see the results from Fargo,'' Bush said, referring to his North Dakota victory.
Asked if his clash with McCain could hurt him in the general election if he is the Republican nominee, Bush responded, ''That's wishful thinking by Al Gore. We have had huge turnout. People are excited and it's a reaction to a positive message. It is going to be easy to heal the wounds of the primary and go on to victory.''
Religion was clearly the key factor in the Virginia race. Exit polls showed that Bush won a remarkable 83 percent of those who described themselves as members of the ''religious right.'' McCain, who on Monday blasted Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson as a force for intolerance who had moved the Republican Party too far to the right, won only 10 percent of the religious right vote.
But exit polls also showed that 79 percent of Virginia voters did not identify themselves as members of the religious right. Among this huge bloc, McCain won by 49 percent to 48 percent, giving him hope that he can perform better in states with fewer religious conservatives. That result showed how important it was for Bush to win this constituency.
But McCain's biggest problem in Virginia was that he didn't draw enough support from non-Republicans, as he did in Michigan a week ago. Only 8 percent of those voting in Virginia's open primary were Democrats, compared to 18 percent in Michigan. Another 27 percent of voters were independents, who backed McCain by a 3-to-1 margin. McCain also showed limited ability to attract his fellow Republicans, who made up two-thirds of the Virginia electorate yesterday. As happened in Michigan, Bush easily beat McCain among Republicans by a 3-to-1 margin.
Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg said that while McCain's attack on Robertson was a ''reasonable gamble'' that may still pay dividends in other states, it had an ''over the top'' appearance that clearly hurt him among core Republicans, especially in conservative Virginia.
''It appears to a lot of Republicans here in Virginia that he is in the middle of a jihad,'' Rothenberg said, referring to a term that means ''holy war.'' ''He allowed Bush to come out as a more tempered, measured, unifying figure.''
Another analyst, Larry Sabato, professor of political science at the University of Virginia, said McCain's attack on Robertson went ''too far for Virginia'' and ''really hurt the effort he was making to attract more Republicans to his cause. It doesn't look good.'' But Sabato said it still possible that ''McCain may get a payoff of some sort in the Northeast and New York and on the West Coast.''
While benefiting from positive publicity after last week's wins, McCain still faced the quandary of how to attract Republican voters. McCain received one-third of the GOP vote in Michigan, winning only as a result of that state's open primary that invited participation of Democrats and independents. Many states with upcoming votes do not allow Democrats to vote in the GOP contest, and some don't allow independents.
On March 7, McCain hopes to do well in the five New England states, as well as Maryland and Minnesota. He is also hoping to win the Republican-only primary in New York, with longer-shot chances in Ohio and Georgia.
But some of McCain's top aides have said that he must also win California in order to become the nominee, and he faces an especially tough fight there. Under California's unusual rules, anyone can vote in the state's primary, but only the ballots of Republicans count toward the winner-take-all selection of 162 delegates. As a result, McCain could win the most votes in California but - if he loses the Republican vote - not get a single delegate. That would be a harsh blow because the March 14 primaries are tilted in Bush's favor, including votes in his home state of Texas and Florida, where his brother Jeb is governor.
McCain faces an uphill fight in California. A Los Angeles Times poll released last night found that Bush led McCain among Republicans by 47 percent to 26 percent.
Yesterday, after much internal debate in his campaign, McCain announced that he would participate tomorrow in a debate with Bush, appearing at the California forum via satellite from New York, where he plans to spend the day campaigning. Bush also may now participate via satellite.
McCain lately has taken some high-risk steps in hopes of boosting his candidacy. On Monday, in perhaps his riskiest move yet, McCain blasted Robertson in the apparent belief he had lost the religious conservative vote and could pick up moderate support elsewhere by criticizing Robertson.
McCain's move came a day after Bush apologized to Catholics for his appearance at Bob Jones University in South Carolina, whose leaders have referred to Catholicism as a ''cult.''
In interviews with voters in the historic northern Virginia city of Leesburg, it was apparent that the religious controversies had made a deep impression.
At the sprawling tan-brick Leesburg Baptist Church, Stephen Colvin headed into the voting booth after brushing aside a Bush supporter with this comment: ''I can't. My wife's a Catholic.'' Colvin said he was voting for McCain.
But McCain, too, clearly bore scars from the conflicts that have filled the Republican campaign. A day after McCain criticized Robertson for intolerance, Robertson's many supporters in his home state took umbrage - and voted for Bush.
Indeed, just minutes after Colvin entered the voting place here, Shelley Oberlander and her husband, Steven, sought out a reporter to express their dismay with McCain's attack on Robertson. ''Christians don't need to be divided,'' Shelley Oberlander said after voting for Bush.
Zuckman reported from Seattle; Kranish reported from Virginia. Globe reporters Anne E. Kornblut, traveling with Bush, and Yvonne Abraham, traveling with McCain, contributed to this report.
