Nation IN BRIEF : NEW JERSEY : Florio’s Lead Slips but He’s Still Ahead

Incumbent Gov. James J. Florio’s lead over GOP challenger Christine Todd Whitman is slipping, but he’s still 15 points ahead in their bitter battle for governor, according to a New York Times-WCBS-TV poll. The poll shows Florio favored by 49% of registered voters surveyed, compared to 34% for Whitman. The last Times-WCBS poll, taken three weeks earlier, showed Florio ahead, 51% to 30%. With Florio, a Democrat, the only sitting governor facing reelection in November, the race has been called an early referendum on President Clinton, and the Clinton forces sent in ace political strategist James Carville early on to engineer Florio’s campaign.