Getting Bipartisan: Toward a Western Primary
The Governor of Utah, Jon Huntsman (R), says he's going to join Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) in the fight for a Western primary in 2008.
From the Deseret News:
Tuesday, Huntsman said he is taking the lead on getting states to sign on to a single date for the next presidential primary in 2008. So far, at least five states are interested."What's in it for Utah is the national election stage," Huntsman said after the close of the three-day annual meeting of the Western Governors' Association. ...
He said he raised the issue last week during a meeting in Salt Lake City with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a prominent Democrat often discussed as a possible presidential candidate. Richardson backed the issue as head of the WGA two years ago.
"We thought if we had a bipartisan approach, that would ensure something got done," Huntsman said. "He's excited about it. I've talked to some of my colleagues here, and I intend to follow up with them."
Richardson said the states that have expressed interest are Montana, Colorado and Arizona, in addition to Utah and New Mexico. Huntsman said Wyoming is also a possibility. "No one has signed up," the Utah governor said. "We're just initiating discussions."
There's also a bit of historical perspective:
In 1998, Gov. Mike Leavitt proposed the Western states hold the first regional presidential primary in 2000, in March just before Super Tuesday. But what became the Mountain States primary — with just Utah, Colorado and Wyoming Republicans — ended up being held after Super Tuesday had decided the national party candidates.
Kari Chisholm | June 15, 2005 | Comment on This Post (3 so far) |
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Comments
An opinion piece by Daniel Kemmis on a Western Primary appeared in several Western papers (See, for example, http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_2806902). The Salt Lake Tribune ran it on June 19th. If the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune agree on something, then it probably has wide and bipartisan support.
Posted by: Leo Brown | Jun 22, 2005 11:06:14 PM
Here is a link to a story from the Salt Lake Tribune as Hunstman continues to push a Western Primary: http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_2821141
Posted by: Leo Brown | Jun 25, 2005 10:55:10 AM
There's no doubt about it. The parties have common ground in this endeavor, if they sincerely wish to represent their constituencies. The West ought to have greater voice, and that voice should be heard sooner rather then later in order to create some semblance of balance.
Posted by: Gregor | Jun 28, 2005 9:53:11 AM
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(and yes, we know that sometimes they're very, very wrong. Other times, they're right on.)
