POLITICS : Frugal Campaigns Likely, With or Without Cuomo : He would have a big financial edge over other Democrats in a run for the presidency. The rest will find funds hard to come by.

For the six major Democratic presidential candidates, the contest for campaign dollars so far has resembled a friendly neighborhood game of poker, where empty pockets are not much of a handicap because no one else is putting a lot of money on the table.

But now the candidates face the prospect of a new high-stakes player who could dramatically up the ante--New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo.

With $3.8 million left in the bank from his 1990 gubernatorial race, a base in one of the nation’s richest states and ties to liberals around the country, Cuomo would sit down with a commanding financial advantage over all of his competitors, if he joins the game, most analysts believe.

“Cuomo would put them all at a disadvantage,” said Washington attorney Terry McAuliffe, a leading fund-raiser for Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. “If he gets in, there is no financial competition anymore.”

Cuomo, who appears to be considering the race more seriously than ever before, could scramble the financial equation for the other Democrats in two ways. If he runs, the other candidates would have to raise more money to remain financially competitive. But a Cuomo candidacy would also simultaneously squeeze the money supply by virtually shutting down fund raising in New York and crimping it among liberals elsewhere.

“Cuomo has a whole set of people who will pay to hear him and see him, and the others haven’t acquired that following yet,” California Democratic Party Chairman Phil Angelides said.

Even the possibility of a Cuomo candidacy is casting a long shadow over the Democratic financial community. Although opinions vary on how many givers outside New York are holding open their options until the governor reaches a decision, there is no question that many coveted donors in the Empire State are waiting.

Confusion about Cuomo’s intentions--much less whether he actually enters the race--may be the last thing that fund-raisers for the Democratic candidates needed. Even before the most recent speculation about his plans, this was shaping up as an unusually difficult environment in which to raise money.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a big money year in 1992,” said Robert A. Farmer, campaign treasurer for Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. “Money is still going to be important, but nobody (among the announced candidates) is going to have the vast sums they had before.”

Through Sept. 30, the latest date for which Federal Election Commission figures are available, the six announced Democratic contenders had raised a total of $2.2 million. By contrast, at this point in 1987, five Democrats had each raised at least that much money.

Former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas, who has raised $792,060, and Harkin, with $713,857, lead the current group of candidates in collecting money. But each has amassed less than one-tenth of the $8.1 million that Michael S. Dukakis had collected at the same date four years ago.

As of Sept. 30, Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey was third in the financial race with $223,720 raised, followed by Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder at $220,490 and Clinton with $201,319. Former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., who is limiting himself to individual contributions of $100 while the other candidates are accepting donations to the legal maximum of $1,000, had collected $48,440.

One major reason the figures are so much lower is that, except for Tsongas, who announced his candidacy in April, this year’s cast of Democrats did not begin their fund raising until recently. But, even now that the money hunt has begun in earnest, most experts believe other factors will continue to depress the amount of funds raised:

* Although some fund-raisers see signs of a break in the gloom, pessimism about the party’s chances against President Bush has made Democratic donors reluctant to invest in the challengers.

* None of the generally little-known 1992 contenders begin the race with a national network of financial connections.

* The compressed campaign schedule leaves the candidates with less time to find and cultivate new fund-raisers who can expand the financial pie.

* The recession has hampered some key Democratic constituencies, including the real estate industry, Hollywood and Wall Street, diminishing the pool of people willing to write $1,000 checks.

* Except for Tsongas and Brown, whose financial bases have atrophied in the decade since they last held public office, none of the announced contenders come from a wealthy state capable of producing the huge sums that Massachusetts provided for Dukakis. Adding to these problems is the likelihood of shortfalls in the federal account that provides the candidates with matching funds for contributions of $250 or less.

On the other side of the ledger, some Democrats note that, because the campaign began so late, the candidates will spend less than they have in the past during the year before the election, leaving them with more cash next year.