Senatorial Futures: NY

[Jacobtm]

Senior Senator: Charles Schumer (D)

Chuck Schumer was born in 1950. He was elected to the New York State Assembly at Age 23, the year he graduated from Harvard Law, becoming the youngest member in the Assembly since Theodore Roosevelt. Since being elected to the NY State Assembly, Schumer hasn't held a job outside of an elected office, and hasn't lost an election. He was a U.S. Representative from 1981-1999, and has been a U.S. Senator since 1999. He originally won his seat in the 1998 election by defeating longtime incumbant Al D'Amato 55-44, and won re-election in 2004 over Republican Howard Mills by the margin of 71-24. The 2004 campaign was unnotable, and I didn't see a single ad for Schumer the whole campaign, despite living in NY and watching hours and hours of political programming. With the state of the Republican Party in NY, Schumer needn't worry about losing his seat any time soon.

Junior Senator: Hillary Clinton (D)

Senator Clinton was first elected in 2000 by a margin of 55-43, and was re-elected in 2006 by a margin of 67-31. Should Clinton decide to maintain her seat, she could have it for quite some time, but Ms. Clinton likely has other plans. It is unclear whether or not Ms. Clinton will give up her Senate seat while in pursuit of the Democratic Presidential nomination, or if she wins it. Should Ms. Clinton resign her seat, newly elected Governor Eliot Spitzer (D) will appoint her successor. Regardless of what happens, this seat is safe for Democrats.