Rick Lazio

A Republican public official of somewhat moderate bent, Rick Lazio thrust himself into the national stage in 2000, with unsuccessful results. A lifetime resident of Long Island, he planned on becoming a prosecutor. After working in the Suffolk County District Attorney office, he was persuaded to run for the elective office of the Suffolk County Legislature in 1989 at the age of 31, though he looked far younger. That campaign proved successful and became an effective and personable member of that legislative body. By 1992, there was considerable public displeasure at the United States Congress, which were embroiled in a series of minor but well-publicized scandals. Local Republicans approached Lazio about being a candidate, and he finally agreed to run against Democratic Congressman Thomas Downey, who had first been elected in 1974. Downey had once been known as an idealistic liberal, opposed to Congressional excesses. But by 1992, Downey himself had gotten bad press, being embroiled in