Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-03-11
Wagner Feels Pressure
To Oppose Rockefeller
d. BY DAVID S. BRODER
Star Staff Writer

Mayor Robert F. Wagner of
New York is coming under in
creasing pressure from top-level
Democratic Party officials in
Washington to oppose Gov.
Nelson A. Rockefeller's re-elec-
ton bid this November.
These officials are convinced
that the deadline for selecting
some other Democrat for a
buildup as a challenger to the
Republican Governor is almost
past. They predict that each
week that goes by without the
emergence of another strong
contender makes the mayor
candidacy more likely.
Mr.. Wagner, elected to his
third term as Mayor last No
vember, is reported by friends
to be cycling the situation with
cautious interest. He has not
shut the door on the possibility
of running, they said, but he
is reluctant to enter the con-
test unless there are indications
he has a real chance to upset
Gov. Rockefeller.
Persons interested in getting
the mayor into the race have
arranged for Louis Harris,
President Kennedy's favorite
pollster, to survey the strength
the mayor or other possible OPP
ponents could muster against
the Governor.
Too Early to Say
Mr.. Harris said in a tele-
phone interview yesterday that
''initial soundings" in some
parts of the State had indi-
Gated a substantial loss of pop
ularity by Gov. Rockefeller, but
he cautioned that it was too
early to drawn any firm con-
clusions.
Until now, most Democratic
strategists have rated Gov.
Rockefeller as unbeatable and
have concentrated only on
finding someone who could
make a respectable showing
against him.
These officials have calcu-
lated that if Gov. Rockefeller'S
winning margin could be held
below his 1858 margin of 573,-
600 votes, it would put a crimp
in his plans for seeking the
1864 Republican presidential
nomination.
Mayor Wagner is repeatedly
reluctant to sacrifice himself in
a race whose only object is to
reduce the Rockefeller plural
ity. His main ambition, init
mates said. is to challenge Re-
publican Senator Heating for
the Senate In 1864. A defeat
by Gov. Rockefeller this year
would do little to enhance his
standing, particularly since he
lost his only previous state
wide contest to Senator Javits
in 1856.
But the view among Wash
ington Democratic officials is
that the mayor has placed him
self in a position where he may
not be able to refuse to run
against Gov. Rockefeller.
Has Responsibility
Hes got all the power and
the patronage and the backing
we can give him." one party
leader said. so he's got to take
the responsibility. If the PreSi-
dent comes to him and says,
You have to do this (make
the race for Governor) I don't |
see how he can refuse"
Underlying the pressure on
the mayor to run is the con-
viction in Washington Demo-
cratic headquarters that time is
growing too short to build up
some other candidate.
Officials note that Gov. Rich
ard j. Hughes of New Jersey,
the Democratic upset winner
last November, was picked by
a party caucus in February Of
1861 and had nine months to
make himself known to the
voters.
New York is a much bigger,
much tougher State" one Of
fetal said. II don't see how we
can wait until the State con-
vention in mid-September, pick
an unknown there and think