The Five Political Stories to Watch in 2015 – NBC News.com

2. What does the ’16 presidential primary calendar look like?

Besides the presidential field, keep an eye on the 2016 primary calendar, which will come into clearer focus next year.

As of now, the nominating contests are expected to begin in Iowa (Feb. 1, 2016), New Hampshire (Feb. 9), Nevada (Feb. 20) and South Carolina (Feb. 27).

And Politico reports that several southern states – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee – are thinking about holding their primaries at the beginning of March. Call it the “SEC Primary.”

But as we’ve seen in past presidential cycles, all it takes is for one state to move up its primary to have all of these contests start much earlier.

via The Five Political Stories to Watch in 2015 – NBC News.com.