<P> A positive vote in a referendum is also required for any amendment to the state constitution, whether passed by the regular legislature or by a constitutional convention . </P> <P> New York State has voted Democratic in national elections since 1988 . However, New York City has been the most important source of political fund - raising in the United States for both major parties . Four of the top five zip codes in the nation for political contributions are in Manhattan . The top zip code, 10021 on the Upper East Side, generated the most money for the 2000 presidential campaigns of both George Bush and Al Gore . Republican Presidential candidates have often skipped campaigning in the state, taking it as a loss and focusing on vital swing states . </P> <P> Many of the state's other urban areas, including Albany, Ithaca, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse are also Democratic . Upstate New York, especially in rural areas, is generally more conservative than the cities and historically tended to vote Republican, although Democrats have made dramatic gains upstate in recent elections, and today the region is much more evenly split . Heavily populated suburban areas such as Westchester County and Long Island have swung from reliably Republican to reliably Democratic in federal elections over the past 25 years, although local races there are still often tightly contested . </P> <P> Democrats Al Smith, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and W. Averell Harriman served as governor, as did Republicans Thomas Dewey and Nelson Rockefeller, who was elected four times . Progressive Republican Theodore Roosevelt was Governor of New York before being elected Vice President in 1900 . </P>

How long has new york been a democratic state
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