Clinton and Lazio battle in New York suburbs
By Frank Buckley/CNN
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Republican Senate hopeful Rick Lazio always finds himself in friendly and familiar territory when he is in the suburbs. Suburban voters are his natural base in New York's U.S. Senate race.
"He walks with us. He talks with us. He understands our needs," said one suburban resident.
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Rep. Rick Lazio leads among New York's suburban voters in the state's U.S. Senate race
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Lazio grew up in the suburbs of New York City, in West Islip, Long Island -- a community he now represents in Congress.
With his family often at his side, beaming wife and lovely daughters, he could be a poster-child for soccer dads.
His Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, is also a suburbanite now, living in Westchester County's Chappaqua.
But she's also the first lady of the United States, whose other home is the White House. And to some, she's simply a city person who couldn't possibly relate to suburban concerns.
"We don't have the (Metropolitan Opera) or something like that." said another potential suburban voter. "We have a softball game to go to, and I don't know that she is going to understand that. I do think Rick Lazio will."
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First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is projected to carry two-thirds of the vote in New York City
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Clinton would disagree. She has campaigned intensively on issues that appeal to suburban voters such as education, health care and the environment.
But it is Lazio with the lead in the race in the suburbs, and that could prove important to this close race. Especially if Clinton produces what is expected to be a strong showing in New York City.
Polls suggest the first lady will win two-thirds of the vote in the city. Upstate is traditionally Republican territory.
But even there, Clinton is polling in the 40s, a strong showing for a Democrat. That means, in the suburbs, she can afford to lose.
"She could probably cede Lazio a 15- to 18-point margin in the suburbs and possibly still win," said Michael Tomansky of New York Magazine.
Some polls have shown her down in the suburbs by double digits, but others indicate she is gaining ground and could actually win in the suburbs.
Lazio, however, believes in the end, suburban voters will reward him for his work in the House of Representatives.
"In the suburbs people know me the best. That's why the people who have sent me to Congress have sent me by the widest margins in the history of the district," he said.
But Lazio has yet to connect in such a way with voters elsewhere in the state. And unless his numbers improve outside of the suburbs, it is unlikely he'll return to Congress next year as a U.S. senator.
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