LBANY, N.Y. - With thousands of supporters cheering in a packed sports arena, Hillary Rodham Clinton was nominated for the Senate yesterday in her adopted state by the New York Democratic Party's state convention.
The nomination by the 352 delegates of the only first lady to run for public office was unanimous.
''Make no mistake, this election is not about me or my Republican opponent,'' Clinton said in a draft of her acceptance speech. ''It's about the people of New York and our common mission.''
Clinton said the mission was to improve the lives of New York's families and children.
''We are producing countless new fortunes, yet we have the second-highest rate of poverty in the country and the biggest gap between the rich and the poor,'' she said.
Still uncertain was whether Clinton would face Republican Rudolph Giuliani, the New York City mayor whose candidacy was expected to make the Senate race a clash of political titans. Three weeks ago, the mayor announced he had prostate cancer and said he was uncertain if he could continue in the race.
The Republican state convention in Buffalo is on May 30.
Shaking hands with supporters, signing autographs and posing for photographs with admirers at the arena in downtown Albany before the convention began, Clinton predicted she would be ''victorious in November'' and told reporters that ''I see the attention as a wonderful indication of how everybody's going to pull together.''
In a last-minute addition to the festivities, President Clinton changed his schedule in order to join the crowd of about 10,000 people at the convention.
''I just decided I ought to be there,'' Clinton said before leaving Washington. ''It's a big deal for her, a big night for her and I want to be there with her.''
