POLITICAL BRIEFING

NEW YORK, NEW YORK--Geraldine Ferraro, whose 1984 vice presidential candidacy made her the first woman on a major party’s national ticket, and state Atty. Gen. Robert Abrams have emerged as the early front-runners for New York’s Democratic Senate nomination. The stakes in the September primary--months after the April 7 presidential primary--are especially high because Republican incumbent Alfonse M. D’Amato is viewed as politically vulnerable. . . . Insiders credit Ferraro with having a well-organized, well-financed campaign. But no one is counting Abrams out; he is an experienced politician whose traditional liberal message sells well with New York Democrats. . . . New York City Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman, like Ferraro a former U.S. House member, and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a controversial black activist, also are in the race.