South Seeks Greater Sway in 2016 With Regional Primary – NationalJournal.com

Last week, [Georgia Secretary of State Brian] Kemp told the five other secretaries of state he’s working with in establishing a so-called “SEC” regional primary (named after the powerhouse college sports conference) that he intends to schedule Georgia’s presidential primary for March 1, 2016—an authority he was granted by the state Legislature in 2011. Tennessee has already set March 1 as its primary day, while the other four states still need to act through their respective legislatures to do the same. Primaries in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi are currently slated for later in March, while Arkansas’s is set for May.

Two other Southern states, Texas and Florida, are already planning to hold their primaries March 1. This is the earliest date anyone outside the usual four early-voting states can hold its presidential primary in 2016 without penalty under the new RNC rules. However, a state that sets its primary during the first two weeks of March must award its delegates to candidates proportionally, as opposed to a winner-take-all system, meaning there is still a benefit for states that choose to hold their primaries later on in the cycle.

“It definitely plays to the weaker candidates’ benefit for a bunch of states to go load up and go during the period of time that’s proportional,” one Southern GOP strategist says. “It seems like the South could make a much bigger statement if it went on March 15.”

But Kemp and his allies ultimately decided that bringing together a group of states that have been largely ignored in recent nomination battles and holding a primary as early as possible is the best way to get the attention of White House hopefuls.

via South Seeks Greater Sway in 2016 With Regional Primary – NationalJournal.com.