Poll: First lady leads in hypothetical New York Senate raceBy Keating Holland/CNN
February 20, 1999
Web posted at: 2:37 p.m. EST (1937 GMT)
WASHINGTON (February 20) -- If the election for the U.S. Senate were held today in New York, a new poll shows 52 percent of registered voters in the state would pick first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton over New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in a hypothetical match-up.
Forty-three percent of New Yorkers would vote for the Republican Giuliani, the CNN/TIME Poll indicated.
Mrs. Clinton wins even more support, 60 percent, when matched against former New York Sen. Al D'Amato. D'Amato, the former Republican chairman of the Senate Banking Committee which investigated the Clintons' infamous Whitewater land deal, was unseated last November by Democrat Charles Schumer.
Would the first lady's status as a carpetbagger hold back her electoral chances? According to the poll, only 39 percent say the fact that she is not a resident of New York bothers them, and only 29 percent say that should disqualify her from running for a Senate seat from the Empire State.
But 59 percent say Giuliani knows and cares more about New York state than Mrs. Clinton does. But the first lady's favorable rating is higher than Giuliani's statewide, and she may get an additional advantage because New York voters have a higher opinion of the Democratic party than of the Republican party.
The poll was based on interviews with 819 registered voters in New York state. It was conducted February 17-18 and has a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.5 percentage points.
Here are the questions and results:
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Suppose the election for the U.S. Senate in New York in the year 2000 were being held today, and you had to choose between New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. For whom would you vote?
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Hillary Clinton
Rudolph Giuliani | 52%
43 |
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Suppose the election for the U.S. Senate in New York in the year 2000 were being held today, and you had to choose between former New York Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. For whom would you vote?
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Hillary Clinton
Al D'Amato
| 60%
35 |
|
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If Hillary Clinton were to run for the U.S. Senate in New York, would the fact that she is not currently a resident of New York bother you or not bother you?
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Bothers me
Does not bother me | 39%
60 |
|
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Do you think Hillary Clinton should be disqualified from running for the U.S. Senate in New York because she is not currently a New York resident or don't you feel that way?
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Yes
No | 29%
69 |
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Please tell me whether the following better describes Hillary Clinton or better describes Rudolph Giuliani: Knows and cares about New York state
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Giuliani
Clinton | 59%
28 |
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I'm going to read you the names of some people and organizations in the news today. Please tell me whether you have generally favorable or generally unfavorable impressions of each.
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Clinton
Giuliani
Democratic party
Republican party | Favorable
65%
50
54
37 | Unfavorable
28%
33
27
43
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