RNC Changes Primary Calendar
The RNC has approved a new presidential primary calendar:
KANSAS CITY, MO -- The RNC has approved a resolution making dramatic changes to the way the GOP picks a presidential nominee, moving primaries to later dates and requiring states to allocate their delegates on a proportional basis.
The proposal will move the earliest nominating contests -- in IA, NH, SC and NV -- back from early Jan. to Feb. It will also require states that hold nominating contests in March to award delegates based on the proportion of votes candidates win, eliminating the prospect of an early winner-take-all state that would effectively end the nominating process.
Proponents said the measure would avoid the calamity of a national primary. Already, nearly 40 states have primaries scheduled for the first possible day in the nominating calendar.
"This is not a perfect rule, but it is the best possible rule under the circumstances we have now," said John Ryder, the TN national committeeman who served on the temporary panel that crafted the measure.
In practice, the new rules will require GOP WH candidates to place more emphasis on grassroots organizing. Candidates will have to build their campaigns in dozens of states, rather than focusing solely on raising money for TV ads. What's more, primaries won't be held so close to the winter holidays.
Both parties have worked for years to move their nominating processes away from the holiday season, and to solve what is widely believed to be a broken system. The RNC and the DNC worked together to come up with an acceptable compromise; the DNC is expected to vote on their own measure later this month.
Opponents objected to the idea that their states would be forced to adopt proportional representation, and that most states would have to pursue a legislative avenue to reschedule their primaries. Opponents said several state legislatures dominated by Dems could hurt
"I don't trust the DNC. I think we're giving them a last look at their process," said James Dunn, the national committeeman from OK, in announcing his opposition.
The primary process has been the subject of constant negotiations in recent years. The RNC passed a special rule at the '08 convention in order to fix the process, the first time a mid-cycle rule change has been allowed under GOP rules.
Click here to read more.
