First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton made history last night – soundly defeating Long Island Rep. Rick Lazio in one of the longest and most expensive Senate races ever.
With nearly all of the vote counted, Clinton had an overwhelming lead over Lazio, 55 percent to 43 percent – carrying the city by a large margin and running surprisingly well in traditionally Republican upstate.
Every major network and local news station called the New York race for Clinton just after the polls closed at 9 p.m. – bringing a sudden end to an intense 16-month political marathon that often felt like it was plotted in a Hollywood studio.
“This is amazing!” a pumped-up Clinton told an audience of 2,000 cheering supporters at the Grand Hyatt Hotel when she took the stage at 11:02 p.m. with the president and their daughter, Chelsea.
“Sixty-two counties, 16 months, three debates, two opponents, and six black pantsuits later – because of you, here we are,” she said.
Eight minutes earlier, a surprisingly upbeat Lazio conceded to Clinton and compared himself to the losing team in the Subway Series, saying: “I feel like the Mets. We came in second … It’s time for us to hold our heads up high and unify our state.”
Clinton’s victory made her the first first lady to be elected to political office. Her big win also shattered New York’s electoral glass ceiling – Clinton is the first woman elected to statewide office in her own right.
As voter turnout in the state approached its highest level in eight years, Clinton awaited the election results with the president and her staff in her 31st-floor suite of the Grand Hyatt.
After she watched MSNBC declare her the victor, the 53-year-old Clinton emotionally thanked and hugged her aides.
When word of victory hit the hotel’s grand ballroom, Sen. Chuck Schumer excitedly declared: “She did it! She did it!”
It was an odd but joyous moment for the president, whose 22 years in elected office will end in January – just as his wife will be taking center stage for the first time in their marriage.
After his wife’s brief victory speech, the president briefly broke into tears as he shook the hands of supporters.
“I’m just elated. I’m so proud of her,” Clinton told reporters just before leaving the ballroom.
“I’m so happy. I’m so grateful.”
The Clinton victory party kicked off only blocks away from the Roosevelt Hotel, where Lazio saw his Senate dreams go down the drain.
Lazio had coveted the Senate seat after Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement shortly after Election Day in 1998.
But the four-term congressman was pushed to the sidelines by state Republican leaders, who believed the better-known Mayor Giuliani would be a stronger candidate.
Lazio, 42, was quickly pressed into duty May 20, after Giuliani announced he couldn’t continue in the race because of his battle with prostate cancer.
The newcomer showed enthusiasm for the campaign trail that Giuliani never had, and surprised pundits by coming close to catching Clinton in the polls within weeks.
His greatest success came on the fund-raising front, raking in more than $30 million from across the country in less than six months.
Including Giuliani’s war chest, more than $78 million was raised in the race, shattering all previous records for Senate campaigns.
Lazio capitalized on national anti-Clinton sentiment, but was never able to develop a rationale for his campaign beyond – as one of his fund-raising letters boasted – “I’m running against Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
Clinton relentlessly stumped across New York, visiting all 62 counties and becoming an expert on the state virtually overnight.
Her biggest miscues came last year, when she kissed the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a trip to the Mideast and flip-flopped on whether jailed Puerto Rican nationalists should be freed.
Lazio’s opportunity to face Clinton head-on backfired miserably in their first debate in September.
Pressing Clinton on whether she would agree to his “soft-money” ban, Lazio walked over to the first lady’s lectern and repeatedly told her to “sign it.”
The confrontation hurt the GOP candidate’s standing with female voters – widening a large gender gap that Lazio failed to close in the campaign’s final weeks.