‘92 POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE : Control of Senate at Stake as 10 Races Go Down to Wire : As GOP post-Gulf War hopes dim amid sour economy, Democrats see a chance to make big gains. New faces are guaranteed.

In one of the most unpredictable years for Senate elections in memory, at least 10 races remain too close to call with any assurance in the last few days of the campaign.

In the immediate aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, Republicans had high hopes of picking up several Senate seats by targeting Democrats who voted against war-making authority for President Bush. Some pundits speculated that the GOP might even capture control of the Senate.

But the nation’s lingering economic woes--and the consequent struggle President Bush has encountered in his reelection bid--dimmed those prospects.

As a result, Republicans must win several tough contests to hang onto their current 43 seats. Democrats are aiming to increase the seats they hold from 57 to 60, a number that would give them enough votes to kill GOP filibusters in the 100-member Senate.

Much attention is focused on contests with female candidates, many of whom were prompted to run after the stormy hearings last year by the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee into sexual harassment charges against then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.

Currently, only three women serve in the Senate (including Democratic Sen. Quentin N. Burdick’s widow, Jocelyn, who is occupying the seat only until voters pick a replacement). On Tuesday, a record number of 11 women nominees--10 Democrats and one Republican--are hoping to enlarge that number and bring more gender diversity to the chamber.

No matter what the outcome of the various races, there will be at least nine new faces in the Senate in January. Aside from Burdick’s death, seven senators retired and one--Democrat Alan J. Dixon of Illinois--lost in the primaries.

Here is a brief look at Senate races outside California that have attracted interest from political observers:

COLORADO: The race for the seat being vacated by Democrat Timothy E. Wirth pits Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, 59, against Terry Considine, 45, a Denver businessman. Campbell, who is half Cheyenne, had an early lead in the polls. But a series of attack ads by the well-financed Considine--centering on House votes Campbell missed, in part because of his American Indian jewelry business--helped make the contest competitive. Campbell has tried to emphasize Considine’s business dealings with the failed Silverado Savings & Loan, and the GOP candidate’s strong anti-abortion stance has turned off many voters in a state regarded as a bastion of abortion rights.

ILLINOIS: After taking a huge lead in the polls following her defeat of Dixon in a March primary, Democrat Carol Moseley Braun, 45, ran into a pile of trouble in her pioneering campaign to become the first black woman to serve in the Senate. Her biggest problem has been questions about her handling of a $28,750 check to her mother, a nursing home patient receiving Medicaid benefits. Braun and other family members divided the payment instead of reporting it to state officials, who might have ordered that it be used to defray taxpayers’ expenses for the care of Braun’s mother. Even so, she remains favored to prevail over a lackluster Republican opponent, Rich Williamson, 43, a former mid-level official in the Ronald Reagan Administration.

NEW YORK: In one of this year’s roughest campaigns, Republican Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato is slugging it out with state Atty. Gen. Robert Abrams in a contest regarded as much too volatile to call. The 55-year-old D’Amato, although tainted by a series of charges of ethical misconduct, has effectively used his healthy campaign war chest to put Abrams, 54, on the defensive. Abrams also has been hindered by the aftermath of a bitter primary, in which he narrowly defeated Geraldine A. Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee. Still, an expected strong showing by Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton in New York may provide enough leverage to oust D’Amato from the Senate.

NORTH CAROLINA: Democratic Sen. Terry Sanford, 75, was high on the Republican hit list when they selected potentially vulnerable targets this year. But Sanford responded with a vigorous campaign, visiting all of the state’s 100 counties. And his opponent, Republican businessman Lauch Faircloth, 64, has run what critics termed a “stealth” campaign. Even so, Faircloth has benefited from backing of the political organization led by Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.). In addition, Sanford had to stop campaigning Oct. 9 to undergo surgery to treat a heart valve infection, losing two valuable weeks just before the election.

OHIO: Space hero John Glenn, 71, is facing a tough challenge from a nagging critic, Republican Lt. Gov. Mike DeWine, 45. While Glenn still leads in the polls, the race may show the political fallout from the highly publicized “Keating Five” case that involved Glenn and four other senators. The Senate Ethics Committee ruled that Glenn had done nothing illegal or improper in his dealings with a major contributor, former savings and loan executive Charles H. Keating Jr. But the incumbent’s links with the man who came to symbolize the savings and loan fiasco, which has cost taxpayers billions of dollars, have continued to fuel DeWine’s campaign.

OREGON: Republican Sen. Bob Packwood is fighting for his political life against Democratic Rep. Les AuCoin. Despite a campaign war chest of nearly $8 million and a series of attack ads, the 60-year-old Packwood has struggled to inch ahead in opinion polls. AuCoin, 50, has tried to link Packwood with President Bush and grab hard for Clinton’s coattails. But Packwood has pounded on AuCoin’s 83 overdrafts at the House bank and pictured him as an absentee lawmaker for missing votes.

PENNSYLVANIA: Republican Sen. Arlen Specter, 62, has run a textbook campaign but has yet to clearly pull ahead of Democrat Lynn Yeakel, 52. A political neophyte, Yeakel got into the race to protest Specter’s tough questioning of Anita Faye Hill as the Senate Judiciary Committee investigated her sexual harassment charges against Thomas before voting to confirm his Supreme Court nomination. Yeakel has since tried to broaden her attacks on Specter but has suffered from a series of campaign miscues. Specter also has retained the support of organized labor, abortion-rights activists and minority groups that he had carefully cultivated over the years. Still, Yeakel remains within striking distance.

WASHINGTON STATE: Democrat Patty Murray, 42, a self-styled “mom in tennis shoes,” and Republican Rod Chandler, 50, a silver-haired politician and five-term veteran of the House, are locked in a tight race for the seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Brock Adams. Murray, a state senator who got into politics because of her concerns about education, held an initial advantage in the polls. But Chandler battled back by picturing Murray as ill-informed and charging that her views on defense and the environment would cost the state more than 100,000 jobs. Murray has sought to turn Chandler’s experience in Congress into a liability in hopes of capitalizing on anti-incumbent sentiment.

WISCONSIN: Republican Sen. Bob Kasten, 50, needs to stage a comeback to fend off up-beat Democrat Russell Feingold, 39, a state senator. Feingold won a remarkable 70% of the Democratic primary vote by waging a positive campaign while his two opponents clobbered each other with negative ads. His comical campaign ads, which included a mock endorsement from Elvis Presley, have attracted much attention. Kasten, however, has been gaining in the polls by painting his foe as an extreme liberal who would favor higher taxes. He also has sought to turn Feingold’s campaign style against him, questioning his seriousness.

‘92 SENATE RACES / WHERE THE STATES STAND

A total of 34 Senate seats are at stake in Tuesday’s election; 19 are currently held by Democrats, 15 by Republicans. Here is how political prognosticaters currently rate the contests. SOLID DEMOCRATIC / EXPECTED WINNERS

Alabama: Sen. Richard C. Shelby

Arkansas: Sen. Dale Bumpers

California: Dianne Feinstein

Connecticut: Sen. Christopher J. Dodd

Florida: Sen. Bob Graham

Hawaii: Sen. Daniel K. Inouye

Kentucky: Sen. Wendell H. Ford

Maryland: Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski

Nevada: Sen. Harry Reid

North Dakota: Byron L. Dorgan (open seat)

South Dakota: Sen. Tom Daschle

Vermont: Sen. Patrick J. Leahy LEANING DEMOCRATIC / UPSET POSSIBLE

Georgia: Democratic Sen. Wyche Fowler Jr. vs. Republican Paul Cloverdell

Illinois: Democrat Carol Moseley Braun vs. Republican Richard Williamson (open seat)

South Carolina: Democratic Sen. Ernest F. Hollings vs. Republican Tommy Harnett SOLID REPUBLICAN / EXPECTED WINNERS

Arizona: Sen. John McCain

Indiana: Sen. Dan Coats

Iowa: Sen. Charles E. Grassley

Kansas: Sen. Bob Dole a safe bet LEANING REPUBLICAN / UPSET POSSIBLE

Alaska: Republican Sen. Frank H. Murkowski vs. Democrat Tony Smith

Missouri: Republican Sen. Christopher S. Bond vs. Democrat Geri Rothman-Serot

Oklahoma: Republican Sen. Don Nickles vs. Democrat Steve Lewis

Oregon: Republican Sen. Bob Packwood vs. Democrat Les AuCoin

Utah: Bob Bennett vs. Democrat Wayne Owens (opens seat) TOSS-UPS

California: Democrat Barbara Boxer vs. Republican Bruce Herschensohn (open seat)

Colorado: Democrat Ben Nighthorse Campbell vs. Republican Terry Considine (open seat)

Idaho: Democrat Richard Stallings vs. Republican Dirk Kempthorne (open seat)

New Hampshire: Democrat John Rauh; Republican Judd Gregg; independent Larry Brady (open seat)

New York: Democrat Robert Abrams vs. Republican Sen. Alphonse M. D’Amato.

North Carolina: Democratic Sen. Terry Sanford vs. Republican Lauch Faircloth

Ohio: Democratic Sen. John Glenn vs. Republican Mike DeWine

Pennsylvania: Democrat Lynn Yeakel vs. Republican Sen. Arlen Specter.

Washington: Democrat Patty Murray vs. Republican Rod Chandler (open seat)

Wisconsin: Democrat Russ Feingold vs. Republican Sen. Bob Kasten ELECTED ALREADY: Sen. John B. Breaux of Louisiana won reelection by getting more than 50% of the vote in an Oct. 3 primary.