WI: Rudy vs. Hillary NY Senate Race

SanMan64

Banned
Mayor Giuliani was in the 2000 Senate race until he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, forcing him to drop out. However, what if he went on to face First Lady Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head Senate race? Keep in mind, Rudy Giuliani was a moderate in 2000 and could appeal to many groups of voters.

If Rudy Giuliani was elected, would he survive 2006 (depending on who is president)? Would this affect his success in the 2008 Republican Primaries?

Also, substituting Hillary Clinton with Nita Lowey could have very different results...
 
I'd say Hillary still wins in 2000 against Giuliani, who had problems both motivating a base behind him from GOP establishment and also a great degree of controversy/scandal behind him.

However, say hypothetically Rudy does win in 2000 then he likely doesn't get his national hero status that he got after 9/11, given as a Senator he'd have likely been in DC and thus not the image of the hands on Mayor everybody saw right after 9/11. He does still work hard for NYC after 9/11 for cleanup/funds etc but without the PR boost, he's more like Schumer and Hillary there OTL.

Providing Bush's Presidency goes similar/the same, Giuliani loses in 2006. He'd still lose badly or even worse in the 2008 primaries if he decides to run.
 
When's the last time NY had a Republican senator?

1999 when Al D'Amato left the Senate after being defeated in 98 by Schumer. So for the 2000 election a GOP win is still highly plausible. It's only really after 2004/06 that the GOP began to lose any realistic hope of gaining back a Senate seat in NY.
 

SanMan64

Banned
I'd say Hillary still wins in 2000 against Giuliani, who had problems both motivating a base behind him from GOP establishment and also a great degree of controversy/scandal behind him.

However, say hypothetically Rudy does win in 2000 then he likely doesn't get his national hero status that he got after 9/11, given as a Senator he'd have likely been in DC and thus not the image of the hands on Mayor everybody saw right after 9/11. He does still work hard for NYC after 9/11 for cleanup/funds etc but without the PR boost, he's more like Schumer and Hillary there OTL.

Providing Bush's Presidency goes similar/the same, Giuliani loses in 2006. He'd still lose badly or even worse in the 2008 primaries if he decides to run.
I'd say, in my opinion, John Kerry would have to be President for Rudy to win reelection in the Senate. Kerry would be forced to take the fall for the continuing insurgency in Iraq, Katrina (unless he handles it differently), a stagnating economy, and having a Republican House and Senate for his entire presidency.

While Rudy wouldn't have his hero status, I think he'd hold a better chance of winning the nomination (or coming close) as he'd have more political experience and his campaign wouldn't be built around 9/11.
 
Top