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CALIFORNIA, JUNE 6. By the time this primary rolls around, some candidates are likely to have left the race. It will probably be hotly contested, nevertheless, because the winner takes all its 271 delegates—the juiciest plum along the campaign trail. So far, Muskie holds the lead. The latest field poll shows him ahead of Humphrey, with 28% to 23% of the vote. Lindsay and McCarthy are each given 9%. McGovern trails with 7%. Only Muskie and McGovern have as yet been doing any serious campaigning in California. Still, in a state that appreciates a dazzling personal campaign style, Lindsay has a chance to score an upset.
NEW YORK, JUNE 20.
In his home state, Lindsay is near the bottom of the list of favored candidates. The New Democratic Coalition, a group of Manhattan and suburban liberals, recently endorsed McGovern and gave Lindsay a minuscule 1.4% of its vote. These should be the people who support a Lindsay candidacy; elsewhere in the state he is liked even less.
Muskie has won the endorsement of the great majority of county leaders and other key political figures. His liberalism helps him in New York City, while his New England image wins friends upstate. Humphrey, if properly fortified by earlier primary victories, could give him trouble. Jackson has some strength upstate and Chisholm among blacks in the cities. But here, again, Muskie looks like the winner.