Florida’s Earlier Primary Becoming a Reality

The Florida legislature is taking steps to move up Florida’s presidential primary so that the state will have a much greater influence in choosing the nominees. Below are some of the recent articles on this issue:

Early primary date could boost Florida's political clout
Sun Sentinel February 11, 2007
“The Florida Legislature is widely expected to approve a plan to move up the state's primary date to late January or early February, a shift that would give Floridians a crucial part in picking the Republican and Democratic nominees.”

House panel links primary date to New Hampshire's
Palm Beach Post February 9, 2007
“A proposal that would rely on New Hampshire to set an election date in Florida won unanimous support Thursday from a state House committee. The bill would move Florida's presidential primary from early March to a week after the New Hampshire election or Feb. 5, whichever happened first.”

Lawmakers closer to moving up Florida’s presidential primary
Naples Daily News February 9, 2007
“Defying national Republican and Democratic party threats, Florida lawmakers in a House committee Thursday unanimously approved a proposal to hold the state’s presidential primary as early as January.”

Early presidential primary clears first House hurdle
Orlando Sentinel February 9, 2007
The plan could dramatically alter the landscape of the 2008 presidential campaign, with candidates who have been planning to target smaller early-primary states, such as South Carolina and Nevada, forced to devote resources to mega-state Florida.