New York

New York, one of the 13 original colonies, joined the Union in July 1788. However, the state did not choose electors in the first election due to an internal dispute. In the 1810 Census, New York became the nation’s most populous state, and had the most electoral votes from the 1812 election until the 1972 election, when it relinquished that distinction to California.

Like many other Northeastern states, New York’s electoral clout has diminished in recent years. In each Census from 1950 through 2010, it lost at least two. In 2020, it lost one, although that almost didn't happen. Texas surpassed New York in electoral votes in 2004, and Florida did so after 2020.

New York has been primarily a “blue” state ever since the Great Depression, only siding with a losing Republican when it chose its then-current governor Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S. Truman in 1948. It has voted Democratic in the last ten elections, although Kamala Harris's 13% margin was the narrowest since 1988, when the current streak began.