ne of the most prominent and distinguished institutions of our land. Though the outcome should surely prove to be excitingly close, I feel comfortable predicting Charles Schumer the victor of the grueling contest.
             New York as a political state has a variety of significant characteristics. It is one of the largest and most diverse states in the union, with a population of approximately 18.2 million people, housing a broad range of ethnicities, races, and income brackets. The population is made up primarily of Caucasians (76.4% of voter pop.), African American's (14.7% of voter pop.), Hispanics (11.2% of voter pop.), and Asians(3.8% of pop.).2 When most people think of New York, they think of New York City; however, it is important to note, that about 16% of the state is rural.3 Further, the population is also relatively young, with a median age of about 35 and only 13% of the of the population over the age of 65.4 In terms of an educated electorate, almost 45% of the population has a college education.5 New York is typically the most Democratic of the larger states. The Democratic influence used to come from middle-income Jews and Catholics in the outer boroughs of New York City who still account for a large portion of the population.6 However, today, the Democratic vote comes from African Americans, Puerto Ricans and liberal Manhattan whites.7 New York holds great influence in presidential elections as well, with 33 electoral votes, the second-highest number behind California's 54. While in presidential politics the Empire State tends to vote Democratic, in state politics voters have trended Republican.8 New Yorkers elected Republican Rudy Giuliani as New York City mayor in 1993 and again in 1997 and chose Republican George Pataki as governor in 1994. More specifically, the state has about 47% registered Democrats and 30% registered Republicans.9 Moreover, New Yorkers tend to vote in relatively the same prop...