POLITICAL BRIEFING

HIDDEN AGENDA: Although it barely has been debated, abortion could be a key issue in determining the outcome of the special Senate election in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. Democratic Sen. Harris Wofford and Republican challenger Dick Thornburgh, who hold clearly different positions, have tried to avoid getting caught in the cross-fire between supporters and opponents of the right to abortion. Thornburgh opposes abortion except under special circumstances--rape, incest and when the life of the mother is threatened. Wofford, on the other hand, favors a woman’s right to abortion during the first six months of pregnancy, although he supports restrictions such as a parental consent requirement.

Wofford supporters worry that his permissive stance will cost him support among normally Democratic Roman Catholic voters in the Scranton area in northeastern Pennsylvania. Lending credence to their concern is a survey published last week by the Millersville University Center for Politics and Public Affairs, which showed that among voters who rate abortion a top issue, Thornburgh comes out ahead by a margin of 54% to 46%.

MORE CHOICES: Abortion also figures in the politics of Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. On the presidential campaign trail, Clinton stresses his support for maintaining a woman’s right to abortion. But at home, some activists are grumbling that he has not publicly endorsed a proposed ballot initiative that would guarantee the right of choice in Arkansas if the Supreme Court overturns Roe vs. Wade. Arkansas abortion-rights supporters fear that elimination of the federal right could trigger an old state statute barring abortion in all cases. Clinton aides insist his support for choice is firm and maintain that he has not spoken on the proposal--which is aimed at the November, 1992, ballot--because he has not yet received a legal analysis of its provisions.

ECHOES OF ‘88: As Democratic presidential candidates set up shop in New Hampshire, site of the nation’s first primary, they are all learning the same lesson--not to underestimate the first contender in the race, former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas.

In addition to benefiting from having a head start over his opponents, Tsongas enjoys some of the advantages that helped put another politico from Massachusetts, Michael S. Dukakis, over the top in the 1988 New Hampshire primary. These include higher name recognition and the ability to deploy a cadre of volunteer workers from just across the border. Also, thousands of new voters in New Hampshire have migrated to the state from Massachusetts since Tsongas represented them in the U.S. Senate.

A final plus for Tsongas: New Hampshire Democratic Party political director Raymond Buckley points out that the 1988 Dukakis effort included an intensive registration drive that added 5,000 New Hampshire voters of Greek descent to the Democratic rolls--many of them presumably favorably inclined toward Tsongas, the only Greek-American in the 1992 contest.

BROTHERS UNDER THE SKIN: Right now, national polls give former California Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr. the honor of being the best-known Democratic presidential contender. But they also show that he would cede that position if New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo enters the race. How does Brown feel about the prospect? Brown told one group of supporters recently that he would “welcome” Cuomo into the race and he thought a debate with the combustible New York governor would be “very interesting.” Why? “Both of us appear to be able to quote Latin authors and obscure theologians,” Brown said.