Bayh Weighs Withdrawal; Carter Falls From Grace

A reserved Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) is close to withdrawing from the race for the Oval Office last night after taking a disappointing five-per-cent share of the Massachusetts primary vote.

"I will meet with several others who have been involved in the campaign tomorrow to determine what role I should play in electing a Democratic president," he said.

Bayh finished last among the major Democratic candidates in yesterday's election, only ahead of anti-abortion candidate Ellen McCormack and Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp.

Bye, Bye, Bayh

Reacting to speculation that Bayh might swing his support behind Udall, Bayh activist Al Bluestein said "there's not much to give." Asked if he was a Bayh supporter, the Northeastern University junior responded, "Yeah, I worked for Bayh--in the past tense."

Bayh has placed a high priority on the April 6 primary in New York, where he has said he hopes to vie for the first-place slot with Jackson and Udall.

A quiet crowd of about 75 Jimmy Carter supporters watched Massachusetts primary returns at the Boston Howard Johnson Motor Hotel as their candidate finished fourth.

Last Friday, Carter predicted he would finish among the top three Democrats.

The Carter supporters brightened only late in the evening when the former Georgia governor called from Florida to promise them, "In November we'll carry Massachusetts."

In the Vermont Democratic primary yesterday, Carter won 49 per cent of the vote. Sargent Shriver finished with 24 per cent, and Fred Harris drew 19 per cent.

Carter's Massachusetts press secretary Al Raymond downplayed the Massachusetts results. "We didn't have a bad day," he told reporters, "with a victory in Vermont and a fourth place finish here."

Staff members blamed the poor showing on bad weather and Carter's limited campaigning here.

The reactions of Carter's supporters ranged from optimistic to angry. Danni Tructman, a staff member, said, "This is exactly what we hoped for."

Joyce London Alexander, a Carter delegate from Cambridge, was disappointed, blaming the one-two finish of Jackson and Wallace on "the large racist element in Massachusetts." Her husband, Robert Alexander, said he had one-word reaction: "Damn!" He dismissed the result flatly, saying, "Massachusetts is a racist state."

Sargent Shriver yesterday told a crowd of about 300 cheering supporters at the Parker House ballroom that he "was far from defeated here tonight."

He finished in sixth place in the Democratic race with about eight per cent of the vote.

Shriver said he is happy "Massachusetts didn't put George Wallace in first place."

Ted Harrington, Massachusetts co-campaign chairman of the Shriver campaign, attributed what he called Shriver's "disheartening defeat to his Kennedy Connection" which he said didn't come through.

People who disliked Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 (D-Mass.) did not vote for Shriver, and Shriver could not transfer the allegiance of those who did, Harrington said. Kennedy is Shriver's brother-in-law.

Harrington added he thinks Shriver would do better in Illinois--away from Kennedy.

Shriver said he will stay in the presidential race at least until the Illinois primary, on March 16, and predicted he would win it.

Harris Pleased

Despite only a 8-per-cent fifth-place showing in yesterday's balloting, Fred Harris told a wildly enthusiastic crowd of over 700 gathered at the Bradford Hotel bar room last night "These were good results."

"Udall and Shriver should have done their best in Massachusetts, but now Shriver is out and we're going to whip Udall in New York," Harris said last night.

Harris said, "No deal," to what he called, "the talk in Georgetown and on Park Avenue of a progressive coalition against Carter, Jackson and Wallace."

"We say that's bossism," he said.

Harris predicted that his "strong organizations" would produce victories in Illinois and New York.

Shapp Beats "No Preference"

Pennsylvania Gov. Milton Shapp ran a poor ninth in the Democrat primary last night, finishing behind anti-abortion candidate Ellen McCormick.

Stressing that he was hurt by a late start, Shapp told a crowd of about 50 supporters gathered in his Federal St. headquarters that Massachusetts "is just the beginning" of his campaign.

Despite general enthusiasm, Shapp supporter Josh Katz said he sees the Shapp campaign as "an exercise in futility."

Another supporter said he favored Shapp because "he is the only one who's been forthright on the gay rights issue.