Taking His Measure

How does Mario Cuomo stack up against other Democratic presidential possibilities? To measure his national appeal, TIME commissioned a poll of 1,013 Americans last week by Yankelovich, Clancy, Shulman. Democrats and independents were asked about their familiarity with Cuomo and other political figures, their impression of them, and whom they would prefer right now as a Democratic presidential nominee.* The list included 1984 Presidential Candidates Gary Hart and Jesse Jackson, Arizona Governor Bruce Babbitt, New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden and Missouri Congressman Richard Gephardt, as well as Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca and the right-wing fringe candidate, Lyndon LaRouche.

Cuomo does best with those who know him well. Familiarity with Cuomo is highest in the Northeast; 81% of the

respondents there were familiar with him, and 71% of those rated him favorably. But Cuomo's familiarity rating is just 26% in the South, 35% in the Midwest and 34% in the West.

FOOTNOTE: Respondents were polled by telephone May 20 to 22. The potential sampling error is plus or minus 3%. Only those familiar with the potential candidates were asked for their impressions.

CHART: TEXT NOT AVAILABLE.