The battle for Senate in New York State has been a close race between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican, Rick A. Lazio. It was said to be the most unusual political contest since 1964 when Robert F. Kennedy defeated Kenneth B. Keating. Kennedy, a democrat, was the attorney general from Massachusetts and he managed to wipe the floor with his republican opponent. Clinton was seeking to replace Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the retiring democrat while Mr. Lazio saw the retirement of Mayor Giuliani as an opportunity to receive funding if he was to run for a spot in the senate.
             Mrs. Clinton, the fifty-three year old first lady, announced her candidacy for senator sixteen months ago at the farm of Patrick Moynihan. Her running mate, Rick Lazio, from Long Island, is the forty-two year old republican who had just finished four terms as congressmen.
             What affect did campaign ads have on the 2000 senatorial election? Negativity never reveals a positive outcome. Both Clinton and Lazio had their own strategies in persuading voters. A major issue in this particular election was "soft money". So called "soft money", is used by political parties and interest groups to basically bypass legalities on the limits of political fund-raising. These political parties and interest groups create televised commercials, radio ads, and other forms of advertisements to show support and promote a specific candidate. Often times, these advertisements are not so much promoting a candidate as they are criticizing an opponent.
             Mr. Lazio, using the soft money issue to create an identity for himself as a candidate, said that soft money is "the kind of money that has distorted the political process, the kind of money that has kept young people from having more confidence in the political system, the kind of money that is unregulated, unlimited and creates a great deal of cynicism for the public."(September 24, 2000) Th...