NY State Makes Itself Super With February Primary

Get ready for even more intense campaigning in NY State: The State Legislature has approved moving its presidential primary to February 5 from March. Many believe a March primary is pointless, since the most influential ones are earlier in the year.

The bill passed 59-1 in the Senate; the Utica Observer-Dispatch says the lone dissent was from Democrat Ruth Hassell-Thompson of Mount Vernon. Hassell-Thompson said, "Getting people out to the polls in the cold weather can be very difficult. The bill passed 123-4 in the Assembly; Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that the "February 5th primary will link us with other influential states that have demographic as well as public-policy issues and needs similar to New York State's."

Most of the attention is on two frontrunners from the Empire State: Former mayor Rudy Giuliani and Senator Hillary Clinton. Now, the bill just needs Governor Spitzer's signature.