Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is shown speaking in Des...

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is shown speaking in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2014. Credit: AP / Charlie Neibergall

Presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz must have decided by now that competing for New York's 95 delegates to the Republican nominating convention has no value.

But the rest of the GOP field is mulling an invitation from the Long Island Association to hold a debate on April 11 — just eight days before the state's presidential primary. Kevin Law, chief executive of the business group, has reserved the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury at lunchtime, and has notified the candidates and the national and state GOP chairmen.

Law isn't expecting confirmations until after the first spate of presidential primaries, when the candidates start looking where delegates are ripe for the plucking. And if front-runner Donald Trump accepts, the rest are likely to join. Maybe Sarah Palin, Trump's new BFF, who drew a record crowd when she spoke to the LIA in 2011, will put in a good word with the billionaire.

This first appeared in The Point, the editorial board's new daily newsletter for insiders. To subscribe, click here.

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