INDECISION In WISCONSIN

IN Wisconsin, the wise political bettor keeps his wallet shut. It is the state that produced both the La-Follettes and Joe McCarthy, where the traditionally Republican electorate sends liberal Democrats to Con gress, where the Progressive movement is still a living memory, and where George Wallace captured one-third of the Democratic presidential-primary vote in 1964.

On this shifting ground, Lyndon Johnson and Eugene McCarthy meet next week in what was to have been a clear two-man duel. Aside from contending for blocks of the state's 59 convention votes, each candidate has a large psychological stake in the primary. McCarthy's is to prove that New Hampshire was only the beginning for him, Johnson's to show that New Hampshire was an aberration. But Robert Kennedy, who is not on the ballot, and has not campaigned there, may become a decisive enough factor by means of write-in votes to make the outcome indecisive.

Last week Roper Research Associates completed a TIME-commissioned poll that gave Johnson 36%, McCarthy 30% and Kennedy 18%. The balance was scattered. The closing days of the contest could well produce different results. But, as of last week, Johnson could take little comfort in the prospects. Though he came out ahead, he trailed his rivals' combined total. On Election Day, it would be a mixed win.

The survey began March 16, the day that Kennedy announced his candidacy, and ended four days later, just before Nelson Rockefeller withdrew from the race. Even while the New York Governor was still considered a potential candidate, he ran a poor third in the Republican segment of the Roper poll, which gave Richard Nixon 73%, Ronald Reagan 9% and Rockefeller 5%.

Wisconsinites can vote in either primary, regardless of personal party preference. Even before Rockefeller's withdrawal statement 10% of those who told Roper interviewers that they intended to vote in the Democratic primary described themselves as Republicans. The G.O.P. crossover may now be larger because of Republicans who want to influence a real contest.

One important difference between New Hampshire and Wisconsin is in the nature of anti-Johnson sentiment. In contrast to its prevote New Hampshire survey, the current Roper poll shows that most of those supporting McCarthy and Kennedy in Wisconsin are motivated by Viet Nam.

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