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Lazio Embarks on First Leg of New York Senate Race

Aired May 20, 2000 - 8:05 p.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: New York state Representative Rick Lazio is picking up where Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has left off. Lazio threw his hat into the ring Saturday to run against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the United States Senate seat in New York.

Deborah Feyerick takes a look at the race now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rick Lazio returned to his Long Island high school 24 years after graduating, a hometown hero with a statewide message.

REP. RICK LAZIO (R), NEW YORK: And so, my fellow New Yorkers, today I announce that I am a candidate for the United States Senate.

FEYERICK: A day after Rudy Giuliani decided not to run, the largely unknown congressman has overnight become the state's Republican front-runner. And he quickly set out to prove he is more New York than his opponent.

LAZIO: I played little league in these fields in West Islip, I've fished and clammed in our waters, I went to our schools, I've prayed in our churches, I married a wonderful, beautiful native New Yorker.

FEYERICK: Lazio has been eying the New York Senate seat since last summer. He stepped aside at the urging of Republican Party leaders after they tapped Giuliani. And now this team player finds he is the party's go-to guy.

GOV. GEORGE PATAKI (R), NEW YORK: Clearly the best would be Rick Lazio. He did the right thing eight months ago when he wanted to run for the Senate and I asked him to step aside to see if the mayor was going to run, and he did. He's got an outstanding record in Washington, noting for the environment, for stronger families, for lower taxes. And he also is a New Yorker. He's one of us.

FEYERICK: But what he doesn't have is a lot of name recognition. At Bruce's Bakery in Greatneck, voters who had planned to back Mayor Giuliani were faced with a big unknown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know so little about him, and it just seems like you tend to go towards the person -- you gravitate towards the person you know better.

FEYERICK: Political analysts say that could ultimately pay off.

LEE MIRINGHOFF, POLITICAL ANALYST: He's not well known either for good or for bad. I mean, he's going to try to talk about how he's a lifetime New Yorker.

FEYERICK: Lazio, who calls himself a fiscal conservative, says he's running on his mainstream record. The moderate broke party ranks to support the Brady bill and the ban on assault rifles. And he supports a woman's right to choose, though not with taxpayer money and not partial birth abortion.

(on camera): So now it's full steam ahead, says a campaign aide, Lazio hitting the Sunday talk shows, then leaving for a day-and-a- half, nine-city campaign tour. His plan is to introduce himself to voters, lay the political groundwork and start spreading his message, all before the Republican state convention at the end of the month.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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