Some 16 months after the political experts said it could not be done, Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton swept to victory in a historic election yesterday, becoming a US Senator from New York.
Defying pundits who, to the end, said the New York Senate race would be razor close, Mrs Clinton defeated boyish Republican Congressman Rick Lazio by an estimated eight percentage points. The First Lady was propelled to victory by an energetic voters' coalition of labour unions, African-Americans and women.
More surprisingly, the liberal Mrs Clinton did well among conservative upstate voters who traditionally vote Republican.
Unlike Vice-President Al Gore, Mrs Clinton during the campaign fearlessly allied herself with her husband Bill Clinton and his policies. The President actively campaigned for his wife, raised money, and told voters it was "her turn."