KEY RACES ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Voters today will elect 35 senators, 36 governors, and 435 members of the House of Representatives. At stake will be the 55-45 balance in favor of the Democrats in the Senate, and control of statehouses, where redistricting following the 1990 census will affect political power for the next decade. Here’s a look at some of the races that both parties are watching most closely, in addition to the battle for the California governorship--the richest prize on today’s ballot.

GOVERNOR’S RACES

TEXAS: That scraping sound you hear is Republican Clayton W. Williams Jr. trying to hold onto his summer-long lead over Democrat Ann Richards. Williams has been hurt by a series of gaffes--the latest his admission he paid no state income taxes in 1986--but the latest Houston Chronicle poll, echoing other recent surveys, shows him clinging to a five-point advantage in a race where both candidates are viewed unfavorably by a majority of voters.

FLORIDA: Republican Gov. Bob Martinez has run perhaps the year’s best campaign to come within reach of former Sen. Lawton Chiles. But Chiles scored well in a debate last week, and two new public polls show him with leads of four-to-seven points.

ILLINOIS: The battle between Republican Secretary of State Jim Edgar and Democratic Atty. Gen. Neil F. Hartigan remains too close to call, just as it has been all year. Two new surveys give Edgar a two-point advantage; Democrats may be hurt by the presence on the ballot of the black Harold Washington Party in Cook County.

MASSACHUSETTS: Caustic Boston University President John R. Silber holds a narrow lead over Republican William F. Weld, who has been dragged down by his support for a controversial tax-cutting initiative on the state ballot. But liberal dissatisfaction with Silber remains high--the Boston Globe shocked Democrats by endorsing the Republican last week--and that has brought Weld within three points, according to the latest Globe survey.

CONNECTICUT: Former Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. running as an anti-politician independent, continues to lead Republican Rep. John G. Rowland and Democratic Rep. Bruce A. Morrison, but two new polls show his lead slipping, and a substantial share of the voters still undecided. Rowland has eclipsed Morrison to emerge as Weicker’s principal challenger.

MINNESOTA: How strange can it get? State auditor Arne Carlson lost the Republican primary in September but was rushed onto the ballot last week after GOP nominee Jon Grunseth was forced to withdraw following a barrage of revelations about his personal life, including charges that he went swimming nude with teen-age girls. Now Carlson, a supporter of abortion rights, is running even with anti-abortion Democratic Gov. Rudy Perpich in the latest polls.

OREGON: Independent anti-abortion candidate Al Mobley may siphon enough votes from Republican Atty. Gen. Dave Frohnmayer to tip the balance to Democrat Barbara Roberts, the secretary of state. She held an eight-point lead among likely voters in the latest Oregonian poll.

SENATE RACES

NORTH CAROLINA: Trailing in his bid for a fourth term, Republican Sen. Jesse Helms has unleashed a fusillade of explicitly racial ads against his black opponent, Democrat Harvey Gantt. Two surveys show Gantt holding a four- to six-point lead, but in several recent campaigns black candidates have not won as much support on Election Day as polls predicted.

OREGON: Democratic newcomer Harry Lonsdale caught veteran Republican Mark O. Hatfield sleeping and ran to a mid-October lead with tough ads and a resonant anti-Washington message. But Hatfield has hammered back with slashing ads of his own, and reclaimed a lead of five points in the latest Oregonian poll; a private GOP survey shows a wider margin.

IOWA: Tom Harkin appears poised to become the first Democratic senator ever to win a second consecutive term in this state. But Republicans still hold slim hopes for an upset by moderate Rep. Tom Tauke, who trails by nine points in the latest Des Moines Register survey. Tauke has been even closer in private GOP tracking polls.

MINNESOTA: Democratic political scientist Paul Wellstone has given Republican Rudy Boschwitz an unexpectedly tough race with a witty and ideologically pointed campaign. But Boschwitz has rebounded with bristling negative ads, and though Republican strategists remain cautious, two new polls both give the senator a nine-point lead.

HAWAII: Both sides are expecting a photo finish between appointed Democratic Sen. Daniel K. Akaka and Republican Rep. Patricia Saiki. Private and public polls have put the race within the margin of error, but this state ordinarily favors Democrats.