New York lawmakers aim to move 2028 primaries up to Super Tuesday
By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN
(CNN) — The voters who chose Zohran Mamdani might be about to get a bigger voice in picking Democrats’ next presidential nominee.
James Skoufis, a New York state senator who previously ran for Democratic National Committee chair, told CNN he will introduce a bill Thursday to move the Empire State’s 2028 presidential primary to Super Tuesday, traditionally the first time a large batch of states votes on the same day and often the day that presidential front-runners separate themselves from the also-rans.
Skoufis has already lined up what he believes will grow into enough support to pass. His proposal has the potential to reshape the next White House race for Democrats, who would need to put together larger-scale campaigns early, given the size and diversity of New York’s electorate and the expense of the state’s media markets.
It also would give a greater voice in the process to a Democratic primary electorate, particularly in New York City, that’s been trending further left even before Mamdani surged to win the June primary that put him on a path to City Hall.
Asked whether the change is aimed at boosting a potential presidential candidacy of homegrown Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — a Mamdani ally — in a way that boosters of Kamala Harris hoped to when they moved the 2020 California primary to Super Tuesday, Skoufis said, “Not at all.”
“New York has been relegated to only hosting presidential candidates when they want to use us as an ATM. They want to visit our penthouses and corporate boardrooms and then they jet out the next day, if not that night,” Skoufis told CNN. “We typically are in the back of the calendar because that’s what we’ve always done, and it’s about time we changed that.”
Super Tuesday last year was on March 5. New York held its 2024 presidential primaries on April 2.
Skoufis, who was appointed to the “People’s Committee” named by DNC Chair Ken Martin, pointed to New York’s mix of rural, suburban and urban concerns, as well as a demographic breakdown that more closely tracks with the country as a whole than many early voting states do.
“As large as we are, as important as our Democratic electorate is, that will weed out the wannabes, that will weed out everybody else,” Skoufis said. “If you cannot compete in New York, you can’t compete in the nominating process, and you certainly can’t compete in the general election.”
Mike Gianaris, the deputy majority leader in the state Senate, told CNN that he believes the bill — which is simultaneously being introduced in the state Assembly — has “significant” support, and he expects it will be included when members gather next week to set their agenda for the legislative session starting in January.
“It’s kind of a no-brainer,” Gianaris said. “Absent some directive from the DNC not to do it, why would we not want to be more relevant?”
Anthony Hogrebe, a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, declined to take a position on the proposal.
“The Governor will review any bill that passes both houses of the legislature,” Hogrebe said in a statement.
If passed, the law would not make New York one of the earliest states. The DNC is still deciding which states will host the first primaries, with states such as South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan and Iowa vying to go first. Asked whether Martin supports a New York calendar change, a DNC spokesperson declined comment but pointed to its Rules and Bylaws Committee’s ongoing process of deciding the top of its calendar.
The-CNN-Wire
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