WASHINGTON — With Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, New York voters had a hotheaded Yankee fan with the same in-your-face attitude as the city he runs.
Now Republican Rep. Rick Lazio, an amiable, Long Island suburbanite who cheers for the underdog Mets, has stepped in to take his place in the race against first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"They are like Jekyll and Hyde, the two of them," said Rep. Charles Rangel, a Harlem Democrat and one of Hillary Clinton's strongest backers.
"Rick Lazio is a likable guy. I disagree with his politics, but personally, I like him. Does anyone really like Rudy Giuliani?"
Those who know Lazio say likability shouldn't be confused with vulnerability. They say underneath the four-term congressman's Boy Scout smile lies a seasoned politician who does what he needs to get what he wants.
Colleagues recall the time Lazio trumped Rep. Michael Forbes, whose Suffolk County district borders Lazio's, over the TWA Flight 800 disaster off the Long Island shore.
Forbes, then a Republican but now a Democrat, used his seat on the House Appropriations Committee to secure federal money to reimburse local governments for the disaster costs. But Forbes was among Republicans agitating for the ouster of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich; the time came for the coveted announcement, and Gingrich tapped Lazio.
The move raised eyebrows within the New York delegation. Relations have never been the same between Forbes and Lazio.
Still, his easygoing manner stands in stark contrast to the often-scowling and always-combative Giuliani.
Lazio's softer touch is partly a function of his job as one legislator among 435. To get anything done in the raucous House, lawmakers must schmooze and cajole each other, forming and shifting alliances.
"He's not a bully, not a shouter. He's a consensus-builder," said Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Lazio's closest friend in the House.
Portman pointed to Lazio's successes this year as he pushed through bills to make it easier for the disabled to work, to clean up the Long Island Sound and to provide breast and cervical cancer treatment for low-income women.
A key Lazio asset is his sense of humor, Portman said.
"He can be very self-deprecating. He can come into a room where things are really tense and crack a joke that puts people at ease immediately," Portman said.
Lazio used humor to lighten the mood during a protracted battle over increasing the minimum wage by $1, said Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who worked closely with Lazio on the legislation.
"Over the year we worked on minimum wage, he was able to keep us making decisions," Shimkus said. "He just kept pushing, finding the middle ground where we could agree so we could get a bill."
"I was very impressed with his ability to legislate and work with people from both parties."
Former Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., said Lazio's persona changes the complexion of the Senate contest against the first lady.
"It's much more difficult for her to attack him as this mean guy like she could with Rudy," D'Amato said. "Just look at him. He's this cute, telegenic guy with this lovely family. The whole package is very appealing."
D'Amato and Lazio weren't always so close. D'Amato was said to be furious when Lazio doomed a 1997 bill that would have given the Department of Housing and Urban Development authority to go after scam artists who rip off elderly homeowners. Lazio effectively killed the measure, which he had negotiated with Sen. Connie Mack, R-Fla., because he didn't get his way on an unrelated housing provision.
D'Amato waved that aside as ancient history.
"He's very committed lawmaker and a very powerful candidate, and I think he will win," the former senator said.