Hillary Loses Public Support (posted July 18, 1999)

A New York survey conducted July 11-12, 1999 has found that public support for the U.S. Senate bid of First Lady Hillary Clinton has dropped significantly since February. At that time, Clinton led Republican rival Rudolph Giuliani by 11 percentage points. Now Giuliani sports a 47 to 41 percent lead, with 12 percent undecided.

There are interesting geographic differences in public support for the First Lady. In New York City, Clinton leads 61 to 29 percent, while upstate, Giuliani is ahead by 56 to 30 percent. In the suburbs surrounding New York City, Giuliani leads 54 to 35 percent.

One third of registered voters statewide stated they had a "great deal of concern" that Mrs. Clinton did not live in New York. African-Americans support Clinton over Giuliani by 88 to 8 percent, but Giuliani leads among Catholics, Jews, males, and whites. The two are tied among female voters.

If the Republican nominee turns out to be Representative Rick Lazio, Clinton enjoys a lead of 46 to 34 percent over him.

The survey was conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion with 515 registered New York voters statewide. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.