'Progressive Conservative'

Richard Nixon went all out. He built up an organization of 75,000 volunteers, traveled more than 50,000 miles, visited 40 of the state's 58 counties, wound up with a four-hour telethon on which he answered questions on 146 subjects. Last week Nixon won his party's nomination for Governor of California. But it was a shadowed victory.

Opponent Joseph C. Shell, Los Angeles oilman and leader of the Republican minority in the state legislature, tuned his campaign to the G.O.P.'s right wing. "I've gotten sick and tired of calling people liberals when they're basically socialists.'' he said. Though not himself a member, Shell welcomed the endorsement of the John Birch Society. Nixon, in contrast, denounced the far-right-wing organization, called upon Republicans to get out of it. After the primary, news commentators called the outcome a "smashing victory on the comeback trail." But with 65% of the vote to Shell's 35%, Nixon had plenty to worry about. His showing was noticeably weaker than that of Republican Senator Thomas H. Kuchel, who in his primary contest for renomination got nearly 80% of the vote against two opponents.

A Start on the Wooing. On the California registration rolls, Democrats outnumber Republicans by roughly three to two. In order to beat Democratic Governor Pat Brown in November, Nixon will, by his own calculations, have to gather in 20% of the Democratic vote and fully 90% of the Republican vote.

On the basis of his primary performance, he is going to have to do some persuasive wooing among hard-Shell G.O.P. conservatives.

Nixon got started on the wooing while the votes were still being counted. He congratulated Shell on fighting a "good battle,'' said that "those who have supported Joe Shell will see that their differences with me are infinitesimal compared with their differences with Brown." Next day Nixon held a joint press conference with San Francisco's beefy, Greek-born Mayor George Christopher, G.O.P. nominee for lieutenant governor. Did the primary results add up to a defeat for the conservatives? a newsman asked. No, said Nixon. "I consider myself a conservative --a progressive conservative." Republicans v. Nixon. Loser Shell predicted that Brown would beat Nixon in November. As to whether he would support Nixon, Shell said Nixon would first have to show dedication to conservative principles, including a "very public commitment" to cut $200 million (about 7%) out of the state budget. But no matter what promises Nixon might make, a good many Shell Republicans want to see him lose in November. His defeat, in their view, would show up the futility of his middle-road approach, help clear the way for conservative domination of the G.O.P.

If Nixon swings far rightward in an effort to win the Shell Republicans, he may fail to get the anti-Brown Democratic votes he needs. He faces a special embarrassment in the three avowed Birchers who won Republican nominations for Congress in Southern California. Late in the week Nixon called a strategy session of top California Republicans--and ran into a peck of trouble. Asked about the Birchers on the ticket, he indicated that he would not endorse members of "a totalitarian organization whose leader has declared war on a Republican President." Two of Nixon's running mates--Superior Judge Thomas Coakley, running for attorney general, and Bruce Reagan, the candidate for controller, publicly disagreed; they said they thought Birchers could be good Republicans. Nixon tried to shut off newsmen's questions to his fellow Republicans, left the room when he failed.

Democrats v. Brown. In his tight political pinch, Nixon hopes to steer clear of ideology during the campaign, concentrate on attacking Brown for what the Nixon camp calls "the mess in Sacramento" and "the leadership gap." Nixon's best chance of beating Brown is that Brown will beat himself. Pudgy Governor Brown grates on a lot of California Democrats. His $2.89 billion budget is the nation's highest, and the fact that three of his five bond-issue proposals were defeated last week indicates that Nixon may effectively exploit the fiscal issue. In the Democratic primary, three obscure contenders running against Brown got 16% of the vote, and another 5% of those who voted wrote in other names--including Nixon and Shell --rather than vote for Brown. Cracked a Californian after studying the returns: "It looks as if neither Nixon nor Brown can win."

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