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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 24, 1992                   TAG: 9202240237
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

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BRIEFLY PUT...

THE SIGNIFICANCE of Pat Buchanan's 37 percent finish in New Hampshire last week has been overblown. But another troubling sign for the administration has been noticed too little. The Republican and Democratic primaries each drew 157,000 voters. But registered Republicans in New Hampshire outnumber registered Democrats. The 157,000-voter turnout in the GOP primary was about the same as four years ago; for the Democrats, it was an increase of 33,000.

This doesn't mean the president, come November, will lose New Hampshire and its four electoral votes. But the prospect of even a moderately close contest in so Republican a state - in presidential elections, the GOP in New Hampshire typically runs 10 points above its national average - indicates potential trouble for Bush elsewhere.

Keywords:
POLITICS

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