California, Here They Come

A gaggle of candidates heads for the primary finish line

California is first with a lot," says a media maven for San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson. Right now, the state is first with a lot of candidates to succeed Republican Senator S.I. Hayakawa, 75, who is not seeking reelection. When voters go to the polls next Tuesday to choose party nominees for both the Senate and the Governor's mansion, as many as 13 names will be on the G.O.P. primary ballot as candidates for the Senate, and seven of them, including Wilson, are running seriously.

What started as a shoo-in has evolved into a tight, tough three-man race. The early leader was seven-term Congressman Barry Gold water Jr., 43, of Los Angeles, whose famous name has enormous appeal for the state's conservatives. BARRY GOLDWATER FOR THE U.S. SENATE, A TRADITION goes his slogan, and one TV spot shows him sitting on the Capitol steps with dad. Goldwater, however, now appears to be running neck and neck with Wilson and another seven-term Congressman, Paul (Pete) McCloskey of Menlo Park, near San Francisco. A Los Angeles Times poll released last week showed Wilson leading Goldwater 25% to 22%, while McCloskey was favored by 21% of the voters. Another recent poll, by the Mervin Field organization, has Goldwater leading with 29% followed by Wilson (28%) and McCloskey (21%). President Reagan's daughter Maureen, 41, who entered the race against her father's wishes, drew 7% in the Times survey.

Early in the campaign, Goldwater decided not to debate his opponents, a strategy that could cost him the election. "I don't want to give a forum that could possibly advance [Wilson's] situation," he explained. Wilson, who calls Goldwater "my phantom opponent," retorted, "He owes the voters the right to see the candidates and compare them." Last week Wilson, McCloskey, Reagan and two other hopefuls appeared in the first televised question-and-answer session of the campaign. All slammed Goldwater for not showing up.

Each of the three top candidates has disadvantages. Wilson, 48, a bland moderate with a good eleven-year record as mayor, does not inspire the voters. Well liked in the Bay Area, McCloskey, 54, may be too liberal for Southern California, where conservatives remember his strong stance against the Viet Nam War and Jews resent his call for U.S. recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization. As for Goldwater, Wilson has attacked his mediocre attendance record in Congress (he was present for only 18% of the votes this year) and asked whether he is intelligent enough to handle the almost certain winner of the Democratic primary: Jerry Brown, 44, who is running for the Senate after eight years as Governor.

Brown is what bettors would call a mortal lock to win the Democratic nomination. The latest Field poll has the Governor running about 45 points ahead of his nearest rival, Novelist Gore Vidal, 56, who refers to Brown as "Lord of the Flies"—a snide reference to last summer's Mediterranean fruit-fly crisis. At the moment, Brown trails all three top prospective G.O.P. opponents in the polls. However, the Governor has a $2 million campaign fund and is a formidable vote getter when he steers clear of moonbeam topics, a mistake he makes far less often than he did when he had thoughts of entering the 1980 presidential race.