LAWRENCEVILLE. N.J. — As she prepares for a probable U.S. Senate run in New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton lent her support yesterday to a New Jersey congressman who is being targeted for defeat next year by the national Republican Party.
Clinton was the main attraction at a fund-raising event for U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D., N.J.), who staged one of the nation's biggest upsets last year but now faces a tough reelection campaign against a GOP determined to reclaim a seat it held for years.
Clinton's presence, which pulled in an estimated $150,000 for Holt's campaign, signified how important the Democrats consider the central New Jersey race to their hopes of gaining the five seats they need in the 2000 elections to win back control of the House.
Although Clinton never referred to her own political aspirations and did not take questions, her expected run for the Senate next year was clearly a drawing card for the estimated 300 Democrats who listened attentively as she praised Holt and declared the Republicans captives of the National Rifle Association.
Speaking at the Greenacres Country Club, Clinton stressed Holt's first-term accomplishments on issues such as gun control and said the congressman, known for his straight-arrow, no-nonsense approach to the job, was the best the district had to offer.
``He doesn't just take an ideological position and beat it into the ground,'' Clinton said, referring to Holt's background as a scientist and teacher. Holt, she added, was elected in what is generally considered Republican territory because ``he represents the mainstream of this district.''
In capturing the seat in 1998, Holt defeated first-term U.S. Rep. Michael Pappas, who aligned himself with the more conservation elements of the national GOP. His undoing, many believe, came when Pappas sang a song on the House floor in praise of special prosecutor Kenneth Starr.
Next year, Holt may face a more formidable Republican opponent in Richard A. Zimmer, who held the House seat for a decade before giving it up to run unsuccessfully against Robert G. Torricelli for the U.S. Senate in 1996. Holt's victory gave the Democrats a 7-6 edge in the New Jersey congressional delegation.
During her remarks, Clinton emphasized what she called ``kitchen-table'' issues such as preserving Social Security and Medicare and measures she said would ``relieve stress'' on working parents and give them more time to spend with their children.
