For his part, McGovern met with the Women's Cancus yesterday in an attempt to hold its votes in line. He continues to press hard for the backing of the Mack lobby.

The McGovern staff want into planing sessions late Sunday night to map out final strategy for last night's challenges. Emerging late yesterday morning, they felt confident that they could roundup the delegates necessary to defeat not only the California challenge but others as well.

The predominant feeling was that the South Carolins challenge--the first on the schedule, brought by the National Women's Caucus--would be an early, and perhaps decisive, indicator of McGovern's strength throughout the challenges.

The McGovern staff devoted most of its efforts to tightening its communications network, which is commanded from three trailors behind Convention Hall. By late yesterday morning, a staff member had been assigned to each delegation, with the emphasis centering on pressuring Muskie, trying to woo the 275 delegates he holds.

McGovern himself is heading the effort to win Muskie, and if any deal is made, he will do the dealing.

The protest groups cut out of formal Convention activites began demonstrations Sunday night. A group of about 200 demonstrators from Flamingo Park marched outside the Playboy Plaza Hotel north of Democratic National Headquarters, then headed towards the headquarters before being turned away by a line of riot-equipped police.

The group, led by SDS but augmented by about 100 young blacks from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference campment adjacent to Convention Hall, was mostly peaceful