Today’s Super Tuesday primaries across the nation will undoubtedly play a large role in determining the eventual GOP Presidential nominee, as well as setting the course for the remainder of the 2012 primary election season. This has caused some in the Cornell community to wonder if the race will still be relevant by the time that the state of New York holds its primary on April 24.
Amidst the Super Tuesday hype across the internet this morning, CBS News ran an article addressing this very point. Depending on today’s results, many are predicting that few candidates will drop out of the race. This has some, including Guy Molinari – head of Mitt Romney’s New York team – gearing up for continued consequential primaries down the road.
“Now everybody’s going to be involved, and that’s good in the long term. It’s good for everybody because more people become involved,” said former Rep. Guy Molinari.
In 2008, New York held its primary over two months earlier, on February 5, 2008 with 20 other states. John McCain was victorious, with 51.8% percent of the vote. In the Democrat contest, Hilary Rodham Clinton defeated Barack Obama by 17.4% to carry her home state.
This year, a meaningful New York primary will depend on a prolonged primary season. This could bode well for Ron Paul, who has a tradition of staying in primary contests until the very end. Paul also has strong support among the youth in upstate New York. Cornell University has the 3rd largest Youth for Ron Paul group in the nation. Nearby Ithaca College, University of Buffalo, and SUNY Oswego (among others) also boast campus chapters.
Noah Kaplan, leader of Cornell’s Youth for Ron Paul chapter, acknowledged that Paul’s message has resonated with many around the Cornell community. “Ron Paul support is insane,” he commented in a recent interview with The Cornell Review.
It is these passionate student leaders who are hoping that the primary season will still be exciting come April 24.
95 delegates are up for grabs this year in New York. Neighboring Pennsylvania (72 delegates) will also hold its primary on April 24. It will be the next busiest day – by delegates at stake – following today’s contests. This year’s New York primary is further complicated by the fact that state legislatures have yet to reach a redistricting agreement following results from the 2010 Census that declared that New York would lose two seats in the House of Representatives due to population loss.
