THE PEROT FACTOR . . . DIVIDED HE STANDS

Not content with monkeying around with the White House, Ross Perot is making waves in the mid-term Congressional and gubernatorial elections as well -- and his endorsements don't follow a party line. Tomorrow he'll campaign in Washington state for George Nethercutt, the neophyte opponent ofDemocratic House Speaker Tom Foley. His support could actually topple Foley -- who is now in a dead heat, having made up a 10 point deficit in the polls over the last month. But don't accuse Perot of party bias. He's expected Saturday to endorse Independent New York gubernatorial candidate B. Thomas Golisano -- further damaging the lagging candidacy of theGOP's George Pataki. A poll published today has Democrat Gov. Mario Cuomo ahead of GOP candidate George Pataki by 7 points -- about the amount of Golisano's total support. Two weeks back, Cuomo was 15 points behind Pataki. One of the factors in the turnaround is Golisano, who is siphoning away Pataki's conservative base. "A vote for Golisano is a vote for Cuomo," says former Buffalo pol Jack Kemp. The Dems aren't taking chances; President Clinton stumped in Albany today urging New Yorkers to "Make Mario Cuomo the real comeback kid."Post your opinion on theWashingtonbulletin board.