But Governor Leaves Door Ajar : Cuomo Endorsement Unlikely in N.Y. Race

Gov. Mario M. Cuomo has all but decided not to endorse any candidate in the New York Democratic primary, but he is carefully leaving the door open just a crack, should the dynamics of the race suddenly change, key aides to Cuomo said Friday.

Cuomo has told top New York Democrats to pick a candidate of their choice. As expected, many politicians have begun falling into place behind Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, who will announce a series of carefully crafted endorsements in the days before the April 19 primary.

“I would say an endorsement is highly unlikely,” said Gary G. Fryer, the governor’s press secretary, on Friday.

That view also was expressed by Meyer S. Frucher, president of the Battery Park City Authority and one of the governor’s key political operatives, who now supports Dukakis.

“He (Cuomo) has not foreclosed that possibility, yet,” Frucher said. “But he is leaning strongly toward not endorsing.”

Advantages Seen

The New York governor’s political stance has several advantages. It avoids any direct confrontation with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, should Cuomo be leaning toward Dukakis, and is designed to preserve Cuomo’s leverage after the primaries and if voting goes beyond the first ballot at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.

There also are important local considerations. A series of racial incidents, including the Howard Beach case in which three teen-agers were convicted of chasing a black man to his death on a busy highway, have raised tensions in New York state. Cuomo and his advisers believe that politically unnecessary polarization is to be avoided, especially before what could be a highly divisive mayoral race in New York City next year.

Tactical considerations played an important part in Cuomo’s decision as well. Unlike 1984, when the governor and his advisers basically ran Vice President Walter F. Mondale’s winning primary campaign in New York, Dukakis has his own campaign machinery well in place.

In recent days, Cuomo has sought to downplay with humor the value of his own political backing. “Who cares . . . what Mario Cuomo says,” he said. When told Friday that a reporter was writing a story about his stance on an endorsement, the governor said that perhaps the writer should work on something serious.

In a poll released Friday, the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion found that almost 43% of likely Democratic voters in New York said it made no difference to them whether Cuomo endorsed a presidential contender in the primary. Thirty percent said the governor should back a candidate and 25% indicated he should not.

Poll Finds Dukakis Gains

The poll of 408 likely Democratic voters contained some good news for Dukakis, showing him with the support of 47.8% of voters vs. 31.6% for Jackson. Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr. had 7% and Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois, who suspended his campaign Thursday, had 2.7%.

In a Marist poll taken three weeks ago, Dukakis led Jackson by 39.8% to 28.6%. Gore had 5.2% and Simon 6.5%.

However, the poll also found many Democrats are not strongly committed to a contender at this time and suggested that a low voter turnout would tighten the contest among the leaders. Among the one-third of the sample who indicated they were very likely to vote in the primary, the margin for Dukakis narrowed, with the governor receiving 43.1% of the vote vs. 34.1% for Jackson. Gore and Simon trailed with 8.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Undecided was 10.4%.