As of 2024[update], this is the last time a man has won the Class 1 Senate seat from New York.

1994 was significant for the Republican Revolution, mostly as a referendum against President Bill Clinton and his health care plan, and was seen as a tough year for Democratic incumbents.

Moynihan, however, was New York State's most popular politician at the time, and ran ahead of all other Democrats competing statewide.

[1] She portrayed herself as a fiscally conservative, socially moderate Republican in the mold of Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman, and attempted to portray Moynihan as excessively liberal and prone to government spending.

[1] But Moynihan repeated his past strong performance among upstate voters, in addition to the usual Democratic strongholds in New York City.