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Clinton, McCain to campaign in New York next week

BY KEITH HERBERT.keith.herbert@newsday.com

February 1, 2008

Hillary Rodham Clinton will be in New York for a campaign event on the eve of Super Tuesday that will be broadcast live to voters in 22 cities.

John McCain, the Republican front-runner, will also visit New York, highlighting the state's importance in the primary race. The state has 101 GOP delegates and 281 Democratic delegates.

In a campaign event designed to meet the challenges of multistate primaries and caucuses, Clinton will host a town hall meeting that will be broadcast live 9 p.m. Monday on the Hallmark Channel, a cable TV network.

The campaign said one person who asks Clinton a question through its Web site will get the opportunity to ask the question in-person at the meeting, and meet Clinton backstage afterward. Questions can be submitted at www.hillaryclinton.com/townhall.

"This is really a unique way to reach voters in more than 20 states," said Blake Zeff of the Clinton campaign in New York. "We've been using technology to reach out to voters in as many ways as we can."

The first 60 minutes of the 90-minute event will air on the cable channel. The campaign purchased the time Wednesday.

Voters attending events around the country will be able to ask questions directly of Clinton, who will host the event from an as-yet undisclosed location in New York City, Zeff said.

"It's all because there are so many states in play," Zeff said.

On the Republican side, McCain, who Wednesday was endorsed by Rudy Giuliani, will hold a campaign rally on Tuesday at 8 a.m. in New York City. The location wasn't released.

Though Barack Obama has no events scheduled in New York, his staff yesterday didn't rule out the possibility.