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Broadway bags $1 million for Mrs. Clinton's Senate bidOctober 26, 1999 NEW YORK (CNN) -- President Clinton was center stage, but he took second billing to his wife at a birthday-eve fundraiser Monday on Broadway that raised $1 million for her potential Senate bid. The Clintons attended the "Broadway for Hillary" revue at the theater that usually hosts the musical "Ragtime." Donors paid between $250 and $1,000 to see acts from more than a dozen Broadway shows. The performers and the first couple marked Mrs. Clinton's 52nd birthday Tuesday with the event. Though Mrs. Clinton has not yet declared her candidacy for the Senate seat now held by retiring Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, she sounded like a candidate. "I'm very grateful for the support you give me tonight, and I'm very excited about this upcoming campaign," she told supporters. The president introduced her as "the ablest, most passionate, most committed, most visionary public servant I have every known," adding that he was still getting used to being "the warm-up for Hillary." The event raised about $1 million for Mrs. Clinton's Senate exploratory committee. Performers at Monday night's event included Lauren Bacall, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth and Joel Grey. All donated their time for the gala at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Republicans dismiss Mrs. Clinton as an interloper trying to usurp a seat that should go to someone with deeper roots in the state. "It will show the depths that they will go to try to buy this Senate seat for a carpetbagger who is not from New York," National Republican Chairman Jim Nicholson said. New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Mrs. Clinton's likely opponent in the Senate race, also is using a Broadway show to raise money. His campaign hopes to raise $500,000 by selling 500 tickets to a November 16 performance of "Saturday Night Fever." Talk show host Rosie O'Donnell poked fun at Giuliani's law- and-order reputation during Monday night's performance: "The cast of (the musical) 'Smokey Joe's Cafe' wanted to be here," she said, "But the mayor had them all arrested outside the theater for loitering." The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
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MORE STORIES:Tuesday, October 26, 1999
• Hard struggle ahead for Reform candidates • Chamber plans major push for GOP candidates • Gore, Bradley prepare for face-to-face meeting • House passes bill to protect domain names • Des Moines Register: Eight Iowans to have say in Reform Party selection • Chafee successor won't be named until at least next week • NHPrimary.com: Bush pledges his campaign ads will come from the heart • Broadway bags $1 million for Mrs. Clinton's Senate bid • Clinton signature of defense bill leaves other budget fights raging • Bush, Forbes boost spending, even when no delegates are at stake • Mississippi gubernatorial candidates face off in final election debate • Buchanan plotting course with Reform Party • McCain accuses Bush of orchestrating unflattering story • Exploring the human connection between citizen and candidate • Buchanan says no religious test in America • Former Treasury Secretary to take senior position at financial firm | |||||||||||||||||||||