New York

Democrats tend to dominate the city while the suburbs and upstate region lean Republican.

Key facts

Population: 18,184,774 (ranked 2 among states)

Governor: George E Pataki (R)

Electoral College votes: 33

But the size of the city means that the state usually gives its 33 electoral votes (second only to California) to the Democratic presidential candidate. Despite this, New York City currently has a Republican mayor and the New York state a Republican governor, who has brought some stability to the state's once troubled finances.

In the early days of the Republic, New York City used to be the capital of the United States and even though it no longer holds that position, it is still can claim to be the country's leading city. Some residents like to call it the world's capital.

1998 Congress

House of Representatives: 18 Democrats, 13 Republicans

Senate: 2 Democrats

New York is the USA's largest city, the centre of world finance and an engine of cultural innovation. If New York were a country it would be the world's 10th largest economy. One of the keys to its success is the way it has broken rules, bucked convention and adapted to change, no more so than in the way it has incorporated newcomers.

But New York's association with immigration is not confined to its history. It is still a major aspect of New York's character and it continues to breathe life into its communities and culture. From 1990 to 1996, about 113,000 immigrants arrived in New York each year from all over the world.

Voting record

1996: Clinton 60%, Dole 31%

1992: Clinton 50%, Bush 34%, Perot 16%e

1988: Dukakis 52%, Bush 48%

Today, children of 196 nationalities are educated in the city's schools and no one ethnic group now makes up an absolute majority of the city's population. The largest numbers of immigrants came from China, the Dominican Republic and the former Soviet Union, while those from countries such as Ghana are among the first from their nation to make a new start in the United States.

New York City has also undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, under its tough, abrasive and popular mayor, Rudy Giuliani. Crime and welfare rolls have dropped rapidly and quality of life has improved. The income gap between the wealthiest families and the poorest families has been greater in New York than any other state.

It is always important to remember that New York is a state not a city and the 50,000 square miles of upstate New York which stretch up to the Canadian border are a world away from the cosmopolitan buzz of Manhattan. In 1997, New York City was home to only 41% of the state's population compared to 53% in 1990, as the city's population falls and the suburbs grow.