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A Historic Primary

This year may well be a crossroads
By
Editorial

It has been a long time since a New York presidential primary really mattered. And it has been a long time since a primary season has generated anywhere near this level of interest among East End residents. No matter where one might be on the political spectrum, the big-picture debates about the direction of the country have been significant. 

Hillary Clinton, in recent polls, is favored to win in New York, as is Donald Trump. Mrs. Clinton’s ascendancy is not surprising, given her time representing the state in the Senate and her and her husband’s general popularity here. Mr. Trump’s appeal is also obvious, if for what we consider profoundly wrong reasons. The expected Republican also-rans, John Kasich and Ted Cruz, seem hardly the sort of candidates who could win in such a populous and diverse state as this. As could have been expected, Mr. Cruz, the Texas senator who infamously decried “New York values,” came in last in a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. As for Bernie Sanders, were he to outvote Mrs. Clinton in New York it would be a surprising upset, according to predictions.

As much as this year’s choices have reflected a sharply fragmented electorate, the measure of ourselves it holds up is valuable. This year may well be a crossroads, and we welcome New York, for once, at the center of it.

 

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