POLITICAL BRIEFING

SENATE WATCH: It is money--specifically a war chest of more than $3.7 million--that has allowed Republican Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato of New York to quickly hit the airways with ads aimed at stealing the thunder of his Democratic foe, state Atty. Gen. Robert Abrams. . . . After winning his party’s primary this month, Abrams promised to spotlight questions about D’Amato’s integrity. The incumbent has responded with commercials that--citing a report by the state Commission on Government Integrity--charge that Abrams’ fund-raising practices as attorney general have been “implicitly coercive.” . . . Other D’Amato spots tout his endorsement by former New York Mayor Edward I. Koch. The outspoken Democrat praises D’Amato as “New York’s pit bull.”