California Moves Primary to February 5

Yesterday, the California Assembly passed a bill that will move the date of the state's presidential primary to February 5, 2008 (registration required). The bill previously cleared the Senate and is expected to be signed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

Californians will choose presidential candidates in February, not June, under a proposal that cleared the Legislature on Tuesday and that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign.

Legislative leaders say an earlier primary will give California some influence in selecting the next president and force candidates to address issues such as immigration that don't resonate in Iowa and New Hampshire, where voting will take place in January.

In addition to Idaho which also moved to February 5, a number of other states are considering changing the dates of their primaries or caucuses.

Bills to shift the presidential primary election to Feb. 5 are also pending in Illinois, Texas, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Kansas and New Jersey, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. At least eight states have already tentatively scheduled their presidential primary elections for the same day.

So while the West may have been hoping to gain influence, as Emmett pointed out in the comment thread yesterday, Western Super Tuesday is rapidly becoming National Super Tuesday.

kencamp | March 7, 2007 | Comment on This Post (2 so far) Permalink: California Moves Primary to February 5

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