More party bigs among would-be Hillary Clinton delegates
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders shake hands before the the Univision-Washington Post Democratic presidential debate at Miami-Dade College, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in Miami. Credit: AP / Wilfredo Lee
Voters who show up for New York’s presidential primary two weeks from tomorrow will receive very different-looking ballots depending on whether they are Democrats or Republicans.
GOP members will simply be asked to fill in the circle for one candidate among four: Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz or Ben Carson (still on the ballot although he dropped out).
Democrats too will receive ballots offering a choice of presidential hopefuls, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton.
But those voters will also have a second selection to make if they wish: which delegates to send to the party’s national convention in Philadelphia this summer.
Picking Clinton or Sanders, and then voting for delegates pledged to one of the rival candidates, amounts to two separate contests.
Names of Republican delegates don’t appear on ballots. These will be assigned post-primary by party committee members in each Congressional district around the state. Delegates in both parties will be apportioned based on how their candidate performs in a given district.
The choices on the Democratic side reflect a certain political reality going into the April 19 primary. Better-known local party figures and elected officials — considered the state party “establishment” — abound among delegates aligned with Clinton, with labor activists and reformers bearing Sanders’ underdog label.
For example, in Suffolk’s 1st Congressional District, Judith Hope, the former state Democratic chairwoman, runs as a Clinton delegate. Several House candidates in different districts will also appear on the ballot pledged to the former secretary of state, including top Suffolk Legis. DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) in the 2nd Congressional District and Thomas Suozzi and Anna Kaplan in the 3rd C.D.
Sanders delegates on the ballot include Brian Schneck, president of UAW Local 259, in the 1st Congressional District, veteran transportation union activist Eddie Kay of Brooklyn, and at least two state senators: James Sanders of Queens and Bill Perkins of Manhattan.
HOUSE ENDORSEMENT: Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman, a public-relations executive, has declared support for Jon Kaiman, the former North Hempstead supervisor running for the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington).
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
