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Another Clinton Enters The Political Arena
by Dina Rashed
WASHINGTON (IslamOnline) - First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton now holds a new title: New York State U.S. Senator. She gained the victory after defeating Republican Rick Lazio on Tuesday winning 56% of the vote to Lazio’s 44%. She is the first First Lady, present or former, to hold an elected political office.
Gender preferences among voters were apparent in New York’s senatorial race Tuesday, as Mrs. Clinton support largely drew from female voters, gathering 58% of their vote. Lazio drew 51% of male voters.
Analysts say the progress of Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore as the preferred candidate in New York also gave her a boost in taking the seat.
Although the senate race was her first experience in running for a publicly elected office, the First Lady was able to reach out to both voters in New York City and the suburbs.
Mrs. Clinton campaigned intensively on issues appealing to voters in the state, such as education, health care and the environment. She also proposed plans to raise the number of new jobs to 200,000 over a six-year period, offered special tax credits for investors in the technological sector and advocated personal tax cuts for college tuition.
Lazio attacked her throughout the campaign on soft money campaign contribution issues and on her being a non-New York native, with no experience in public life, depending on her husband’s record.
Lazio’s most vigorous attacks against Mrs. Clinton concerned allegations she received campaign contributions from Muslim American groups that some local press labeled as coming from terrorist “blood money” (see IslamOnline’s Congressional story).
Mrs. Clinton benefited from the Democratic Party’s dominance in the state, where estimates say the ratio of Democratic to Republican voters is 5-3.
Hillary also received support from Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Lieberman and his wife Hadassah, who campaigned with her several times and served her well in reaching Jewish voters.
U.S. President Bill Clinton, Hillary and daughter Chelsea, were among the first voters to cast ballots at an elementary school near their home in Chappaqua, 30 miles north of New York City.
Following a press conference held with her family in a New York hotel after her victory, the President said he would help her write an acceptance speech.
“I’m the first president in history with a wife in the Senate, and I like it,” he said.
Turnout neared record levels both in New York City and upstate. The New York City Board of Elections called the turnout “very large,” nearing a prediction of 70%.
Turnout in 1996 came to 56% of registered voters.
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