McCarthy, Trailing in the Polls, Jumps on Dukakis Bandwagon

Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, hoping to boost his beleaguered campaign for the U.S. Senate, is taking advantage of every opportunity to link his name with the Democratic presidential ticket of Michael S. Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen.

Trailing Republican Sen. Pete Wilson in the polls and lagging far behind in fund raising, McCarthy has climbed onto the Dukakis-Bentsen bandwagon--at times promoting their candidacy as much as his own.

“This ticket of Dukakis and Bentsen is going to lead to a new junior senator from California,” McCarthy said enthusiastically Thursday in a speech here to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

McCarthy had hastily rearranged his schedule so he could share the stage at the union convention with Sen. Bentsen of Texas, the vice presidential nominee.

Last week, McCarthy appeared in Stockton and Modesto with Massachusetts Gov. Dukakis, the presidential nominee, and Bentsen in their first campaign swing through California after receiving the nomination.

And next Thursday, Dukakis is scheduled to hold a fund-raiser for McCarthy in Los Angeles that the lieutenant governor hopes will raise $250,000 for his campaign.

“As we hit the ground in state after state, Democrats are anxious to be associated with the ticket and want to be a part of it,” said Tad Devine, a senior adviser to Dukakis who is traveling with Bentsen. “Leo McCarthy is a perfect example of that.”

Devine said Dukakis and Bentsen also are eager to have the support of candidates for other offices, particularly in states such as California, which campaign strategists view as critical to their victory in November.

“This is an attractive national ticket,” Devine said, “and we’re happy we’re enjoying support from state officials who are running for statewide office, like the lieutenant governor.”

For McCarthy, the nomination of Dukakis and Bentsen presents a rare chance to make some headway in his bid to oust Wilson.

McCarthy has consistently remained behind the senator in public opinion polls, at times by as much as a 20% margin. And while Wilson expects to collect $15 million for his campaign, the Democratic challenger hopes to raise a total of $9 million.

“We fully expected that Leo McCarthy would carry on an umbilical-cord campaign with Dukakis,” said Bob Hudson, a spokesman for the Wilson campaign.

McCarthy, in his speech to the union members, spent most of his time praising the Democratic candidates and criticizing the Reagan Administration record on a wide range of issues.

But he also had a few choice words for Wilson. He attacked the Republican senator’s support for aid to the Nicaraguan Contras, his votes in favor of the “Star Wars” defense system, and his political fund raising.

“He already spent $2 million on television advertising just to let Californians know he’s a member of the U.S. Senate,” McCarthy said.

Convention Role

McCarthy also made note of the high-profile--though brief--part he played in Dukakis’ nomination--a role that the lieutenant governor hopes made an impression on California voters. At the Democratic convention last week, the Dukakis forces chose California to cast the final votes giving him the nomination. McCarthy, as chairman of the California delegation, announced the vote on nationwide television.

“How proud I was . . . to announce the vote of the California delegation giving Mike Dukakis the nominating edge,” McCarthy told the union members.

After his speech, McCarthy made it clear that tying his campaign to the presidential ticket is only part of his strategy for victory.

“I do not believe for a moment that Dukakis and Bentsen will elect me by their strong standing in the polls,” he told reporters. “I must win my own campaign. California tradition is that Senate candidates must prove their own worth. It must be a comparison of Leo McCarthy’s character and convictions and performance versus Pete Wilson’s.”

Registration Drive

At the same time, McCarthy said, he will benefit from the Democrats’ voter registration drive for the presidential campaign, the expected high visibility of the presidential candidates in California and their assistance in his fund raising.

“It’s very obvious that the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket is very popular in California,” McCarthy said. “They have signaled they will be very supportive in a variety of ways. I couldn’t expect or ask more of them.”