Senate OKs Move of Presidential Primary
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SACRAMENTO — The state Senate voted Thursday to move California’s presidential primary up to the first Tuesday in March in 2000 to give the vote-rich state greater clout in choosing a president.
The bill by Sen. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) would shift the primary from June to March. It was sent to the Assembly on a 26-10 vote.
That means California’s primary would be among the earliest in the nation. New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary is held at the end of February, and the Democratic and Republican parties have agreed to hold no other primaries before March 1, Costa said.
“This guarantees that California will be at the front of the train,” Costa said.
He said moving up the primary date would force candidates to campaign in California, which has 54 electoral votes. Now, he noted, candidate selection is largely completed by California’s June primary.
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