The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Nevada Sets Caucus Date for Feb. 4, Averting December Primary in N.H.

Posted on | October 23, 2011 | 4 Comments

Florida set off a predictable chain reaction by jumping its primary to Jan. 31, and one consequence was the threat by New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner to move that state’s primary to as early as Dec. 6. The problem was that Iowa had moved its caucuses (originally scheduled Feb. 6) to Jan. 3, and Nevada initially announced its caucuses would move to Jan. 14. But New Hampshire state law requires their primary to be on a Tuesday at least seven days before any nominating event other than the Iowa caucuses, which made Jan. 10 unworkable.

The thermonuclear option was averted Saturday when Nevada voted to hold its caucuses Feb. 4. While Gardner has not yet officially announced the date for New Hampshire, it is likely that the schedule for the first five events will now be:

Iowa caucuses ………………… Tuesday, Jan. 3
New Hampshire primary …. Tuesday, Jan. 10
South Carolina primary …… Saturday, Jan. 21
Florida primary ……………… Tuesday, Jan. 31
Nevada caucuses ……………. Saturday, Feb. 4

This is not ideal — I’ll still have to leave for Iowa the day after Christmas – but it is better than if New Hampshire had jumped into December.

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Category: Election, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Carolina

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