President Donald Trump’s home state will likely join a bloc of Northeast primary states next year.
State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris announced legislation Tuesday to hold New York’s Democratic presidential primary on April 28, one week after the Republican contest. Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania also have primaries on April 28.
By then, many states will have already held their primaries and caucuses, beginning with Iowa on Feb. 3, New Hampshire on Feb. 11 and South Carolina and Nevada later that month.
Nevertheless, Gianaris, a Queens Democrat, said the date will help New York “maximize its influence in the presidential nominating process.”
“The selected date will increase our state’s allotment of delegates, based on party rules,” he added in a prepared statement. New York will have 327 delegates in the presidential race.
The New York State Democratic Committee initially selected the date last month, choosing a later date than in prior years to get the delegate bonus, which was further beefed up by choosing a primary with two adjoining states.
This would also be the first presidential primary in New York to take advantage of the state’s recently-enacted early voting policy.
Two New Yorkers are running in the crowded field for the Democratic nomination — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine