CAMPAIGN ’88 : Moynihan Goes for 3; N. H. Race Takes Shape

Two more hats landed in the political ring on Monday:

- Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) announced he will run for a third term in the U.S. Senate and said the welfare of young Americans and fighting drug abuse will be among his chief concerns.

“The issue of drugs is a tormenting one in this country now. I have been and will continue to be seized with the issue of drug abuse,” Moynihan said in announcing his candidacy in Syracuse.

He also cited long-term medical care for the elderly and rebuilding the nation’s transportation systems as among the top priorities of a third term.

- In Concord, N. H., a four-term congressman announced he will seek the Republican nomination for governor, setting the stage for a race in which the stalled Seabrook nuclear power plant is likely to figure prominently.

Rep. Judd Gregg said he would bring to the governor’s office a record of “fiscal restraint and common sense, a record of commitment to low taxation and an understanding of the basic values of New Hampshire.”

Manchester Mayor Robert Shaw also is running for the GOP nomination. Republican Gov. John Sununu announced a week ago he will not seek a fourth two-year term.

Gregg, a 41-year-old lawyer, said he favors allowing Seabrook to go into operation provided it meets certain conditions, such as having a “safe, workable evacuation plan.”

Shaw, 53, on Monday called Seabrook “a monumental disaster,” and said he will seek to have it converted to natural gas.

“Already, that incredibly expensive and politically mismanaged project has bankrupted the state’s largest utility. Now it threatens to impoverish the rest of us as well,” Shaw said.

Seabrook has yet to go into operation because of emergency-preparedness obstacles, a delay that forced its principal owner, Public Service Co. of New Hampshire, to file for bankruptcy protection last year.

Portsmouth lawyer Paul McEachern has announced for the Democratic nomination. McEachern, a leading opponent of Seabrook, lost to Sununu in 1986.