But he said that such a surge was not visible in overall primary turnout, and that the continuing use of negative campaign tactics would suppress turnout, as it was meant to.

Standing next to her at Coogan's, Peter Walsh said the primary turnout was a "referendum on the system; people don't like it."

With most Republican campaign aides expecting a primary turnout of 100,000, Mr. Lauder has already spent about $85 a potential voter.

For example, Manhattan's count appeared to be 18 percent higher than its primary turnout; Brooklyn and the Bronx appeared up by close to 10 percent.

The Republican primary vote for all three intraparty rivals was only 5.6 percent of the total Democratic primary turnout.

Neither article sought to project the likelihood of voting in the September primary - an extremely uncertain practice because primary turnouts are generally low.

If political leaders want to increase primary turnout, they should allow for more competition.

Both the Dukakis and Gore campaigns are courting Mr. Manton, whose county is expected to be among the top three of the state's 62 counties in primary turnout.

The primary turnout - 18 percent of registered Democrats - was the lowest since World War II.

Or Mr. Matheussen, the only anti-abortion-rights conservative in the race, because the conservative primary turnout is so reliable and because the two others would split the moderate vote?