SMOOTH SAILING

For Sen. Pete Wilson and his principal Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy, the June 7 primary will be mostly a ceremonial occasion.

Wilson faces no opposition from fellow Republicans and McCarthy only token opposition within his party. McCarthy and Wilson plan to spend primary day offering moral support to political allies who face tougher fights on June 7.

Then, the two men will get down to the business of trying to woo voters during a year when the public’s attention will be drawn toward the presidential election.

Up until now, the maneuvering by Wilson and McCarthy has been directed mainly at building the kind of financial support necessary to communicate with voters throughout the nation’s most populous state.

In cash on hand, Wilson holds a big lead over McCarthy--$2.4 million to $706,000. Wilson also leads in public opinion polls by margins of 12 to 20 points.

But the polls also indicate that many voters have not yet begun to think about the race. Early skirmishing by the two candidates suggests that the campaign is likely to focus on the records of the two candidates as well as issues ranging from the environment to Social Security to drugs.

Wilson and McCarthy are veteran politicians, both former members of the state Legislature, where McCarthy served as Assembly Speaker. Wilson is a former mayor of San Diego who moved to the U.S. Senate in 1982 after defeating former Gov. Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr.