The Story of Hillary Clinton's Campaign to Become a U.S. Senator from New York (2001)

• published: 20 Jun 2015
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When New York's long-serving United States Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement in November 1998, several prominent Democratic figures, including Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York, urged Clinton to run for Moynihan's open seat in the United States Senate election of 2000.[210] Once she decided to run, the Clintons purchased a home in Chappaqua, New York, north of New York City, in September 1999.[211] She became the first First Lady of the United States to be a candidate for elected office.[212] Initially, Clinton expected to face Rudy Giuliani, the Mayor of New York City, as her Republican opponent in the election. Giuliani withdrew from the race in May 2000 after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and matters related to his failing marriage became public, and Clinton instead faced Rick Lazio, a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives representing New York's 2nd congressional district. Throughout the campaign, opponents accused Clinton of carpetbagging, as she had never resided in New York nor participated in the state's politics before this race. Clinton began her campaign by visiting every county in the state, in a "listening tour" of small-group settings.[213] During the campaign, she devoted considerable time in traditionally Republican Upstate New York regions.[214] Clinton vowed to improve the economic situation in those areas, promising to deliver 200,000 jobs to the state over her term. Her plan included tax credits to reward job creation and encourage business investment, especially in the high-tech sector. She called for personal tax cuts for college tuition and long-term care.[214] The contest drew national attention. Lazio blundered during a September debate by seeming to invade Clinton's personal space trying to get her to sign a fundraising agreement.[215] The campaigns of Clinton and Lazio, along with Giuliani's initial effort, spent a record combined $90 million.[216] Clinton won the election on November 7, 2000, with 55 percent of the vote to Lazio's 43 percent.[215] She was sworn in as United States Senator on January 3, 2001. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillary_Rodham_Clinton Clinton's victory would establish her as an effective campaigner and an electoral force on her own, able to capture Republican and independent votes and overcome her polarizing image.[101] She would easily win re-election in 2006, and in 2007 began her presidential campaign for 2008. Lazio gave up his House seat to run for Senate. Following his defeat, which set a record for the most money spent in a losing Senate effort,[82] he took positions in the corporate world and avoided electoral politics until becoming a candidate in New York's 2010 gubernatorial election.[114] However, he was defeated by a wide margin in the Republican primary.[115] Giuliani would undergo treatment for his cancer and eventually recover; he would also divorce Donna Hanover and eventually marry Judith Nathan. After his campaign withdrawal, his political future looked uncertain at best.[14] But less than a year after the senate general election, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks took place, with Giuliani still mayor. Giuliani's performance in the aftermath of September 11 earned him many accolades and resurrected his political prospects.[116] After a successful stint in the private sector, in 2007 he also began his presidential campaign for 2008. Throughout much of 2007, Clinton and Giuliani led in national polls for their parties' respective nominations, and media reports often looked back to the 2000 "race that wasn't" as a preview of what might lie in wait for the entire nation in 2008.[14][37] Such extrapolating ended with the Giuliani campaign's precipitous decline and January 2008 withdrawal. Clinton as well failed to gain the 2008 nomination and, in June 2008, she finished in a close second place to Illinois Senator Barack Obama. In December 2008, Lowey would have another chance at the Senate seat, when Clinton was nominated for U.S. Secretary of State by President-elect Obama and Lowey was considered a front-runner to be named as her appointed replacement.[117] But Lowey withdrew from consideration, as in the intervening years she had gained enough seniority to become one of the powerful "cardinals" on the House Appropriations Committee and did not want to relinquish that position.[117] When Caroline Kennedy announced her interest in the vacancy, comparisons were drawn to Clinton in 2000, with both being famous people seeking to hold elective office for the first time.[118] Others pointed out that Clinton had won election to the office while Kennedy would first be appointed.[119] In any case, Kennedy's effort soon faltered, in part due to not having the same desire or willingness to work for the seat as Clinton had had,[120] and she soon withdrew as abruptly as she had entered. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_New_York,_2000