Buffalo - Battling for New York's Senate seat, Ms Hillary Rodham Clinton and the Republican candidate, Mr Rick Lazio, spent the weekend as candidates often do this close to an election, trying to shore up traditional support.
Ms Clinton worked crowds in Democratic Party strongholds in western New York state and the scenic Finger Lakes, appealing to union members, college students and black churchgoers, while Mr Lazio stumped in his home turf on Long Island and upstate.
Turning to his traditional support, Mr Lazio appeared at events designed to firm up his appeal among white ethnic voters. The four-term House member said at a Republican dinner dance at a Sons of Italy lodge in Deer Park, Long Island: "There's no place like home".
A poll by John Zogby released by Reuters/MSNBC yesterday showed Mr Lazio leading Ms Clinton by 47 to 45 per cent. In the most recent poll by Quinnipiac University, Ms Clinton was ahead by 50 to 43 per cent, while the latest Newsday poll showed Ms Clinton ahead of Mr Lazio by 51 to 45 per cent, with a four-point margin of error.