As the Republican presidential race shifted from the cornfields of Iowa to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, conservative candidate and U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Calif.) made a brief stop in the Boston area last night.

Forced to cancel his planned meeting with the Harvard Business School Young Republican Club due to traffic delays in Rhode Island, Dornan managed only an interview on the New England Cable News Network.

But the former Los Angeles television and radio host promised to pay a visit to the Young Republicans at some time in the future.

In a telephone interview with The Crimson from Newton, Mass., last night, Dornan said he is satisfied with his seemingly dismal performance in the Iowa caucuses, where he received less than one percent of the vote.

"[Fellow GOP candidate] Alan Keyes ['72] is in it for the message, and so am I," Dornan said. "But I'm in the arena, and he's in the critic's gallery. I write the laws for the stuff he criticizes."

Dornan attributed his poor showing in Iowa to a lack of time spent campaigning there.

"I never opened up an office," said Dornan. "I didn't have any organization."

He also blamed his performance on the antics of rival candidate and friend, commentator Patrick J. Buchanan.

"Buchanan started telling people I was out of the race," he said. "He took my battle cry of 'Faith, Family, Freedom.' He flat-out took it from me. I don't mind, but he should have asked."

Dornan added that his name was accidentally omitted from the Christian Coalition's Voter's Guide, which is distributed to many voters across the nation.

Stereotyping?

A champion of several national defense projects, Dornan stated repeatedly that the typical stereotypes applied to conservatives do not apply to him.

"There is no hidden racism in me," said Dornan, who opposes quota-oriented affirmative action but supports some other forms.

The candidate added that in 1963, he marched with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dornan is aiming to gain a few percentage points of support in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, hoping that he and his message can hang in the race through March.