First Lady Makes It Official in N.Y., Takes Aim at Drawing Women Voters

Hillary Rodham Clinton, flanked by her husband, daughter and mother, formally announced her candidacy for the U.S. Senate from New York on Sunday, officially ending months of speculation and kicking off a campaign to win back millions of women voters who have become increasingly skeptical about her political quest.

“I may be new to the neighborhood but I’m not new to your concerns,” said Clinton, laying out a detailed agenda in a 40-minute speech that was notably heavy on women’s concerns, including education and health care. “Politics is the art of making possible what seems to be impossible, and that is why I want to be your senator,” she told a cheering crowd of more than 2,000 supporters on the campus of the State University of New York at Purchase, about 40 miles north of New York City.

Although the rally was colorful and upbeat, advisors concede that Clinton has an uphill climb in her quest to be the first woman ever to win statewide elective office in New York. She led the race in polls taken a year ago, when talk of her entering the Senate campaign began, but is now running behind New York’s Republican Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, her likely opponent. And the single most troubling aspect of her poll figures is that she trails him among white women voters--a crucial swing vote that in 20 years has never backed a losing candidate in a New York statewide race.

“It’s got to be her biggest concern, bar none,” said Mitchell Moss, director of the New York University Urban Research Center. “This wasn’t supposed to happen to Hillary Clinton. She was expected to have a big gender gap on her side, and so far in this race, it’s just not there.”

In the most recent independent statewide poll released this weekend, Giuliani beat Clinton among all voters 47% to 40%. But among white women, the Republican mayor was leading 52% to 34%.

Asked why these voters were opposing her, Moss and a host of other political experts offered the same theories: Clinton inspires jealousy and resentment among some women; others see her as an “enabler” for her husband’s personal shortcomings; still others are reluctant to back her because they want more from a candidate than the generalities and vague statements that have characterized Clinton’s error-prone campaign so far.

To combat Clinton’s problems with women voters, who are primarily suburban and upstate residents, the first lady’s supporters will be unveiling in the coming weeks a retooled campaign that will more intensely address women’s concerns. Those changes were on full display at Sunday’s kickoff event.

Perhaps most telling, President Clinton did not speak. He watched with pride as his wife declared her candidacy, and gave her a hug when she was finished. The man who embarrassed his wife so badly in the Lewinsky scandal only waved to the crowd, sat quietly on the dais and was mentioned just briefly in Mrs. Clinton’s speech.

Just before she spoke, the Clinton campaign screened “Hillary,” an 18-minute film by Linda Bloodworth Thompson designed to explain Clinton’s candidacy and expose a more human side of her. It featured shots of the first lady in a soft pink sweater, as opposed to the black, businesslike attire she usually wears. There were jokes about her personal foibles--Clinton apparently has a “terrible” singing voice, say some friends shown in the movie--and the candidate herself boasts of making “a mean tossed salad” and “a great omelet.”

More seriously, the film stressed Clinton’s many years of service on behalf of issues identified with women voters, such as child care, education, medical care, breast cancer research, reproductive rights and other family issues. In her speech, she tried to project a greater sense of humility and self-deprecating humor, noting that in the years since her 1969 commencement speech at Wellesley College, “I’m a little older, a little blonder and a lot humbler. I’ve gone to work, I’ve raised a child. And I’ve spent 30 years trying to better the lives of children and families.”

But will that kind of appeal sway skeptical voters? Even her strongest supporters couldn’t be sure Sunday, as they awaited Clinton’s arrival with a group of Democratic party dignitaries in the SUNY Purchase gymnasium. For Judy Adler, a Democratic activist from nearby Rockland County, the act of Clinton finally getting out and campaigning from now until the Nov. 7 election may win over women voters.

Alluding to the scandals that have dogged the Clinton administration, Adler said, “She has been under a microscope and I really do feel sorry for her. There are many women who judge other women more harshly than men. . . . The best cure for her will be to get out and show people what she believes in. I think she has a good chance to do just that.”

Being more specific in her campaign proposals will also help, said Lorraine Cortez-Vazquez, president of the Hispanic Federation, a Bronx-based umbrella group of 60 social service groups. “The polls show that Latina and African-American women are solidly backing Hillary Clinton, and women have so many issues in common. I don’t see how her opponent in this race will be able to take advantage of that.”

Giuliani, who has not yet technically entered the race, has pluses of his own that have been generating strong political support among women voters. Like Clinton, he is strongly pro-choice, and his record in cutting New York City crime has struck a resounding chord with many suburban and upstate residents, according to a variety of political experts. Together, those blocks account for 69% of the total statewide vote, and Giuliani leads Clinton in both areas; she beats him only in New York City, according to several polls.

“Suburban women could well be the swing votes in this election,” said New York-based GOP political consultant Jay Severin. “Soccer moms in particular could hold the key, and Republicans would be well-advised to remember this. They shouldn’t be going after overweight conservative men named Chuck. This race is about women voters named Buffy; it’s about women who pick their kids up from ballet lessons and want to feel safe.”

Clinton only briefly mentioned crime in her speech, promising to put more police on the streets. But supporters are betting that she can reach out to New Yorkers on the fence with a heavy focus on education and health care, which state residents routinely list as their two top concerns.

“I care about the same issues you do, and we can fight together,” she said, as if to remind women that she has been in the trenches with them during three decades of public life. The campaign will not be easy, she said, and her opponent is known for his tough, aggressive style.

“But hey,” said Clinton, playfully trying on a local accent in public for the first time, “dis is Noo Yawk.”