New York is enjoying the primary spotlight like the Empire State rarely does. Voters will cast their ballots on the Republican and Democratic side on April 19 giving New York two full weeks in the spotlight in a year when the state's primary vote actually counts.

Dylan Byers at CNN reports that the media battle, already a gritty and nasty affair without the primary, is heating up. Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary, calls this the Bronx Zoo phase of the campaign.

As Byers notes, Ted Cruz was told "FU" in a front page story by the NY Daily News, Hillary Clinton was mocked for not being able to access the subway using a Metro Card, and Bernie Sanders has been assailed for his stance on gun control - it isn't tough enough for the News.

On Friday, the Daily News kept up the pounding, packing three unflattering headlines onto the top of its front page: "Cruz misses the train!" "How Bernie bailed out 'big guns'" and "Bubba has Black Lives meltdown." Not to be outdone, the Post splashed its presidential coverage across two pages under the headline "The Out of Towners." The story told readers that the candidates' attempts to act like New Yorkers "are fooling no one."

And the press is just getting started -- the state's primary isn't until April 19.

Donald Trump and John Kasich haven't been let off the hook. Kasich was mocked for eating a pizza slice with a knife and fork while Trump has been portrayed by the News as an evil clown.