Nice to see NY and NJ mattering again (beyond raising money). No surprise that Hillary won the support of the NY Democratic establishment.

New York and New Jersey have often been bit players in the presidential nominating process, with their primaries typically occurring after the nominees have been settled upon.

But the 2008 campaign may be different, with both states planning to hold their primaries on Feb. 5, when a slew of others, including California and Texas, are also holding theirs.

That may be part of the reason both Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama were visiting the region yesterday to spotlight endorsements, with Mrs. Clinton getting the backing of Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York and Mr. Obama gaining the endorsements of Mayor Cory A. Booker of Newark and Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City.

For the Democrats, New York has not been a major primary state since 1988, when the Rev. Jesse Jackson came in behind Michael S. Dukakis, who eventually won the nomination.

This time around, Mrs. Clinton is hoping to have the home-field advantage, and she drew many of the state’s top elected officials to her endorsement in Albany, including Mr. Spitzer, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

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Clinton and Obama Visits Suggest New Clout for Two States

By DANNY HAKIM and JEFF ZELENY

Published: May 15, 2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/us/politics/15northeast.html

New York and New Jersey have often been bit players in the presidential nominating process, with their primaries typically occurring after the nominees have been settled upon. But the 2008 campaign may be different, with both states planning to hold their primaries on Feb. 5, when a slew of others, including California and Texas, are also holding theirs.