New Yorkers now call her Sen. Clinton

The Washington Post

NEW YORK – Hillary Clinton catapulted out of her husband’s long presidential shadow Tuesday, overcoming widespread misgivings about her carpetbagger candidacy and her polarizing personality to earn a historic victory in her New York Senate race.

The first lady’s long, strange trip to join the GOP-controlled institution that acquitted her impeached husband ended Tuesday night in a raucous Manhattan ballroom. Republicans had yearned for the boyish Rep. Rick Lazio, R-N.Y., to drive the first family out of Washington and end the Clinton era once and for all, but the first lady will now be one of the state’s most prominent Democrats and will continue on the national stage.

The president, meanwhile, will become the unlikeliest member of the Senate spouses club. He was beaming at his wife’s side Tuesday night, along with retiring Democratic Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who once called the first lady’s health care plan “a fantasy” but now compares her to Eleanor Roosevelt. If there is really a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” as she once theorized on national television, it could not have been very happy with its work here Tuesday night.

No other first lady has ever run for office in any state, much less a newly adopted state, but Clinton – who grew up in Illinois, went to school in Massachusetts and Connecticut, then practiced law in Arkansas before moving to the White House – wisely relocated to a Democratic state that had supported her husband twice. Now, after standing by him during his races for attorney general, governor and president – and his humiliating affair with a White House intern – Clinton has finally established her own electoral identity. With his help, to be sure, and the help of his vice president, and the help of his top advisers, but she nevertheless will enter the Senate as her own woman, perhaps the most famous one in America.

She mentioned her husband in her thank-you speech Tuesday night – once. She also mentioned her brothers once. She mentioned former mayor Edward Koch once, too. She didn’t mention Vice President Al Gore at all. “I promise you tonight that I will reach across party lines to bring progress to all New Yorkers,” she said.

The intense emotions inspired by the first lady made this the most expensive Senate race in history, with half of an estimated $100 million raised out of state. It was probably also the highest-profile Senate race ever, attracting camera crews from Turkey, Denmark and Japan. And her dual status as candidate and first lady made this one of the weirdest Senate races ever; at times, she even criticized her husband’s Middle East policies on the stump.

At her victory party Tuesday night, her friends admitted they couldn’t quite fathom the events of the last few years ending up this way. “Weird doesn’t begin to describe this,” said Clinton family attorney David Kendall, who first informed her two years ago that the president had admitted his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

For 16 months, though, the first lady made the surreal seem almost routine through sheer repetition, running a relentlessly disciplined campaign on carefully chosen themes. She embraced her husband’s legacy of more jobs and less crime while distancing herself from his decisions that proved unpopular in New York, on topics ranging from dairy policy to Medicaid to Israel.

She refused to discuss impeachment or Whitewater or cattle futures until reporters stopped asking about them. She even avoided the topic of her health care fiasco, except to say she had learned from its failure.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

LifeWise local co-directors Darcie Hammer and Sarah Sweeny talk about what a typical classroom routine looks like on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett off-campus Bible program draws mixed reaction from parents

The weekly optional program, LifeWise Academy, takes children out of public school during the day for religious lessons.

Protesters line Broadway in Everett for Main Street USA rally

Thousands turn out to protest President Trump on Saturday in Everett, joining hundreds of other towns and cities.

An EcoRemedy employee checks a control panel of their equipment at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS

Edmonds is the first city in the country to implement… Continue reading

Over a dozen parents and some Snohomish School District students gather outside of the district office to protest and discuss safety concerns after an incident with a student at Machias Elementary School on Friday, April 18, 2025 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Parents protest handling of alleged weapon incident at Machias Elementary

Families say district failed to communicate clearly; some have kept kids home for weeks.

Irene Pfister, left, holds a sign reading “Justice for Jonathan” next to another protester with a sign that says “Major Crimes Needs to Investigate,” during a call to action Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Arlington. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Arlington community rallies, a family waits for news on missing man

Family and neighbors say more can be done in the search for Jonathan Hoang. The sheriff’s office says all leads are being pursued.

Mary Ann Karber, 101, spins the wheel during Wheel of Forunte at Washington Oakes on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lunch and Wheel of Fortune with some Everett swinging seniors

She’s 101 and he’s 76. At Washington Oakes, fun and friendship are on the menu.

Connect Casino Road Director Alvaro Gullien speaks at an Everett City Council meeting to share community thoughts regarding affordable housing and preventing displacement of those that live along Casino Road on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How will Everett’s comprehensive plan work in Casino Road?

Residents in the diverse, tight-knit neighborhood want “Investment without displacement.” The city’s plan will help achieve that, staff say.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition championship robotics Team 2910 Jack in the Bot on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek robotics team celebrates world championship win

The team — known as “Jack in the Bot” — came in first place above about 600 others at a Texas world championship event last week.

Trees and foliage grow at the Rockport State Park on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 in Rockport, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Washington Legislature approves hiking Discover Pass price to $45

The price for a Washington state Discover Pass would rise by $15… Continue reading

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Parental rights overhaul gains final approval in WA Legislature

The bill was among the most controversial of this year’s session.

Snohomish firefighters appeal vaccine suspensions to Ninth Circuit

Despite lower court’s decision, eight men maintain their department did not properly accommodate their religious beliefs during COVID.

A rental sign seen in Everett. Saturday, May 23, 2020 (Sue Misao / Herald file)
Compromise reached on Washington bill to cap rent increases

Under a version released Thursday, rent hikes would be limited to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.