Washington – Florida Republicans are complicating the West’s hopes to have a major impact in the 2008 presidential primaries.
State Rep. Marco Rubio, a Miami Republican in line to become the next Speaker of the Florida House, says he has the necessary, bipartisan political backing to move the state’s presidential primary to a date one week after New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.
Florida is “a social and economic microcosm of the United States” that has been frustrated by its inability to affect the primary selection process, said Rubio. “We are committed to moving the Florida primary up.”
If Florida did shift to the top tier of the primary calendar, it could siphon advertising money, press coverage and the attention of candidates from a group of Western states that are also considering such a move.
A single Western state could still have great influence, however, if it is permitted – under a proposed Democratic Party plan to diversify the presidential selection process – to hold its contest between the first caucuses, in Iowa, and New Hampshire.
South Carolina, which has closely followed New Hampshire in recent elections, could also lose some clout.
Should Florida shift its date, pollster Frank Luntz predicted, “it kills South Carolina.”
