Kennedy and Cuomo: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Caroline Kennedy and Andrew Cuomo are openly vying for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat in New York, which the former first lady will vacate if and when she's confirmed next month as President-elect Barack Obama's secretary of state.

A lot of names have been floated for Gov. David Paterson to consider as he prepares to appoint Clinton's replacement -- even actress Fran Drescher, star of "The Nanny" -- but Kennedy and Cuomo lead the pack and are drawing a dead heat in a poll of New Yorkers by the Marist College School of Public Opinion.

Both were born in the winter of 1957, both have three children, both come from politically powerful families, both went to law school in New York and they even were related by marriage at one time. But their similarities end there.

You Decide: Kennedy vs. Cuomo: Will family names matter when it comes to picking the next senator from New York? Click here to share your thoughts.

Without knowing their identities, take a look at their resumes and see how the potential senators stack up.

Candidate 1:

Born Nov. 27, 1957
Attended Radcliffe College (1979), Columbia Law School (1988)

1989: Establishes the Profile in Courage Awards
1991: Writes "In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action"
1994: Becomes honorary chair of the American Ballet Theatre
1995: Writes "The Right to Privacy"
2000: Speaks at the 2000 Democratic National Convention.
2002-2004: Chief executive for the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education, raising more than $65 million in private support for New York City public schools
2008: Member of Barack Obama's vice-presidential search team

Current activities:
-President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
-Member of the board at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Commission on Presidential Debates
-Vice-chair of the Fund for Public Schools in New York City

Candidate 2:

Born Dec. 6, 1957
Attended Fordham University (1979); Albany Law School (1982)

1982: Campaign manager for Mario Cuomo in gubernatorial race in New York
1983: Aide to Governor Cuomo
1984-1985: Assistant district attorney in Manhattan
1985-1988: Partner at Blutrich, Falcone and Miller
1986: Founds the Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (H.E.L.P.), the largest private provider of transitional housing for the homeless
1991: Becomes head of the New York City Commission on the Homeless
1993: Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for President Clinton
1997-2001: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
2001: Counsel at law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
2002: Runs for governor unsuccessfully

Current activities:
-Attorney General of New York

In case you've made it this far and don't already know, Candidate 1 is Caroline Kennedy; Candidate 2 is Andrew Cuomo.