For one brief but pivotal moment, New York took center stage in the 2012 presidential race.
The solidly Democratic state usually just serves as a cash machine for White House hopefuls digging for donors.
OBAMA, ROMNEY BATTLE IN CONTENTIOUS DEBATE
But Tuesday night at Hofstra University, about 80 undecided voters from Long Island got their chance to play a role in the hard-fought race between President Obama and Mitt Romney.
They also stirred up some local pride.
When Kerry Ladka posed a question on Libya generated by “a brain trust of my friends at Global Telecom Supply in Mineola,” the Twitter crowd went wild.
“Strong Island! Mineola!” tweeted one watcher.
Instead of facing carefully calibrated questions from journalist moderators, Romney and Obama had to make their pitches to voters who described themselves in a Gallup survey as undecided.
Their concerns mirrored those of voters around the nation: Jeremy Epstein, 20, said he’s constantly warned he’ll have a hard time finding work when he finishes college in 2014. “What can you say to reassure me, but more importantly my parents, that I will be able to sufficiently support myself after I graduate?” he asked.
Katherine Fenton asked about pay inequality for women, and Michael Jones articulated the concerns of frustrated Americans when he said, “Mr. President, I voted for you in 2008. What have you done or accomplished to earn my vote in 2012? I’m not that optimistic as I was in 2008."
C-SPAN grabbed Jones after he played his part in New York’s brief appearance in the national spotlight.
He said he remains on the fence.
ckatz@nydailynews.com
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