'Miracles': Huckabee trounces McCain in Kansas, wins Louisiana

WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain flunked his first ballot test since becoming the Republican nominee-in-waiting. He lost Kansas caucuses to Mike Huckabee, gaining less than 24 percent of the vote.

Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor, got nearly 60 percent of the vote a few hours after telling conservatives in Washington, ''I majored in miracles, and I still believe in them.'' He won all 36 delegates at stake.

Huckabee also won the Louisiana primary but fell short of 50 percent, the threshold necessary to pocket the 20 delegates that were available. Instead, they will be awarded at a state convention next weekend.

For McCain, the news was better in Washington, where he led Huckabee 26 percent to 24 percent in caucuses with 78 percent reporting.

For all his brave talk, Huckabee was hopelessly behind in the delegate race. McCain had 719, compared with 234 for Huckabee and 14 for Texas Rep. Ron Paul. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at the national convention.