The Trumpening of New York.     Tuesday this week I had the satisfaction of casting a vote for Donald Trump. This was of course in the New York state Republican primary — a closed primary, in which only registered Republicans get to vote.

Watching the likes of Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and Paul Ryan this past couple of years, I have contemplated changing my party registration to Independent. Well, I'm glad I didn't. There was The Donald on the ballot sheet, along with Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and for some reason Ben Carson, right there in the gym at my local high school, the entrance to the polling place helpfully marked with a sign saying LUGAR DE VOTACION.

I filled in the circle, fed the sheet through the mark-scanner machine, exchanged a few courtesies with the election volunteers, and left with real satisfaction, having cast a presidential vote for the first time ever without gritted teeth.

There was a Democratic Party primary the same day. Results of the two primaries were a mix, good news and bad news.

Good news: Trump won a bigger-than-expected victory, taking 60 percent of the GOP primary vote. [Cheers]. Bad news: Hillary Clinton likewise did better than expected against Bernie Sanders, taking 58 percent of the vote. [Boos]. Turnout for some reason was lackluster.

Some of you in the rest of the country, those great spaces west of the Hudson where the buffalo roam and the fierce Apaches pitch their tepees, may be surprised to learn that there are any Republicans at all in the state of Mrs Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and Bill de Blasio. There are in fact plenty of us; one-third of our congressmen are Republicans.

So this is a real boost for Trump, not only for the GOP convention in July, but also for the general election in November, assuming the GOP establishment hasn't figured out a way to lasso and hogtie him before then.