The Greenville, South Carolina speech, Buchanan's first since mid-August, won repeated applause from the audience at the fundamentalist Christian college. The president of the college, Bob Jones III, issued tacit support for the ultrarightist candidate, heralding Buchanan as "someone who stands up, speaks up, and will not shut up, and really does not care whether he wins an election."

On September 12 the Federal Election Commission recognized Buchanan as the legitimate Reform Party presidential candidate, ensuring his claim to the $12.6 million in federal campaign money. "There is no doubt here that Buchanan is the party's nominee, and there is no reason to delay the certification," said FEC member Bradley Smith. One commission member opposed the ruling, urging the decision be left to the courts to decide. Two days later the commission issued its final determination and awarded the Buchanan ticket the general election funds.

Buchanan has won ballot status in 42 states, including the 20 states where the Reform Party had already secured ballot access. The ultrarightist candidate asserted that Reform Party founder Ross Perot is financing efforts to keep him off the ballot in other states. On September 19, Michigan secretary of state Candice Miller decided to keep Buchanan off the ballot there.

A month earlier, Buchanan capped his drive to capture the party by defeating John Hagelin for the party's presidential ticket at its national conventional in Long Beach, California. Since then Hagelin's supporters have filed a petition with the commission, which included an affidavit from Perot declaring Hagelin as "the only proper candidate to receive public funding, based on the votes I received in the 1996 election."

Perot had balked at taking the helm of the Reform Party last year and his supporters encouraged Buchanan to join them in seeking the party's presidential nomination. Buchanan subsequently consolidated his control over the organization after ousting his opponents, including Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura.

Back on the campaign scene at Bob Jones University, Buchanan cranked up his anti-immigrant rhetoric, vowing to withdraw U.S. troops from Europe and the Middle East if he was elected, and to deploy them at the Mexican border to stop immigration. Buchanan's rightist views won a hearing among many people in the audience, including several students who said they would vote for him whether he has a chance to win or not. He said the "elites" were "deconstructing our country," and attacked homosexuality, claiming it is an essential aspect of the "social decadence and national decline."  
 
 
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