EARBORN, Mich. - ''The Body'' slammed the billionaire yesterday, as Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura's forces seized control of the Reform Party from its founder, H. Ross Perot, in a coup that all but guaranteed Perot will not head the party's presidential ticket in 2000.
The crucial blow came as Ventura's choice to take over as the party's national chairman soundly defeated the Perot camp's candidate in the final hours of the party's chaotic annual convention.
The repudiation of Perot's control of the nation's third political party was complete. And Ventura began to preside over the ''post-Perot'' era of the Reform movement, whose only significant victory has been Ventura's stunning rise last year from the ranks of professional wrestlers to the Minnesota governorship.
The development followed a divisive standoff between Ventura and the 69-year-old Perot. Ventura has complained that Perot offered no help in his gubernatorial race, and he hinted before the election that he might bolt from the party if his candidate, Jack Gargan, was not elected national chairman.
''Certainly we still need him,'' Ventura said of Perot in a network television interview that was aired shortly before Gargan won the race. ''But it is time now for Mr. Perot, I think, to take a supportive role on the sidelines.''
Ventura, who has said he will not seek the presidency in 2000, immediately assumed the role of kingmaker as he gained vast influence over deciding whom the Reform Party will tap to run for the White House next year with its $12.6 million in federal matching funds.
Ventura's aides wasted no time flexing their political muscle after the vote. They vowed to hold the party's presidential nominating convention next year in Minnesota and endorsed Gargan's plan to move the party headquarters from Perot's stronghold in Dallas to Gargan's home turf near Tampa.
''This puts the Reform Party on a Minnesota-style course,'' said Phil Madsden, a Ventura political operative. ''Jack Gargan enjoys Governor Ventura's trust and confidence, and the working relationship between the governor and the national Reform Party will be greatly enhanced because of this election.''
Perot, perhaps anticipating the outcome, told the party's 354 convention delegates in a speech Saturday night that he would ''certainly be happy to help and participate in any constructive way'' but gave no indication that he planned to continue in a leadership role. Nor did he give any sign that he expected to pump more money into the movement, after donating $72 million of his fortune since 1991.
In another sign that Perot was scaling back his direct involvement in the party, his hand-picked national chairman, Russell J. Verney, announced he was stepping down to work exclusively for Perot as a policy and political adviser.
''The party is moving forward,'' Verney said after the election. ''It does not belong to Jesse Ventura or Ross Perot. It belongs to the delegates, and they have made a reasonable, informed decision about moving the party on the long, straight road ahead.''
Verney joined Perot's top allies in endorsing Gargan's chief rival, Patricia Benjamin of Cherry Hill, N.J., in the race for national chairman. But Gargan, 69, a plain-speaking maverick who has been been described as ''the father of the term-limits movement'' for founding a group in 1990 known as Throw the Rascals Out!, coasted to victory, 213 to 135.
The delegates were not shy about embracing Gargan's priorities, which included supporting Ventura's plan to keep Perot on the sidelines.
Perot won nearly 20 percent of the presidential vote as an independent in 1992, but he garnered less than 9 percent on the Reform Party ticket in 1996. Perot's 1996 showing cost the Reform Party ballot access in 11 states because he failed to secure the necessary votes to assume a ballot spot in 2000.
Gargan was among many delegates who, like Ventura, warned that another disappointing showing by Perot could doom the party.
''I do believe we're ready to have new people give it a whirl, and that's putting it lightly,'' Gargan said.
Thirteen of the 17 New England delegates voted for Gargan, including four of the five from Massachusetts.
''Although Perot has been helpful in forming this party, this party is not only about Perot,'' said Matthew Grimes of Quincy, a member of the national rules committee. ''What we need is a presidential candidate who can bring some new life to the field and is capable of pulling together the various factions in our country.''
Grimes said he had no candidate in mind. But Ventura was not short on ideas.
Ventura yesterday added Senator John McCain of Arizona to the mix of possible Reform Party candidates, even though McCain is seeking the GOP presidential nomination. ''In light of the fact that he has a strong personal feeling on campaign finance reform, it would seem to be a natural fit for the senator to come to our party,'' Ventura said.
Best of all, Ventura said, would be retired General Colin Powell running for the White House on the Reform ticket. ''But I fully understand that the general has no interest in doing that,'' he said.
