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RNC looks at tough enforcement of primary date rules

Posted Aug 4, 2011 by William March

Updated Aug 4, 2011 at 11:34 AM

Republican National Committee members are expected to consider a motion today for strict enforcement of party rules penalizing states that move their primary dates up—a motion that could deny Florida Republicans the host-state perks of good hotel and convention seating locations in the Tampa 2012 convention.

Any date before March 6 violates the party rules that call for a state to lose half its convention delegates. Loss of the hotel and seating perks is an option under those rules.

Paul Senft of Haines City, one of Florida’s three RNC members, said this morning that he expects the RNC’s ruiles committee will hear a motion today to enforce the loss of perks.

But at the same time, officials of two the designated early states, South Carolina and New Hampshire, said today they’d have no objection to a Florida primary on the dates Florida political leaders seem to be leaning toward, the first few days of March.

Florida political leaders say they want an early date and a date on which no other state has a primary, but don’t want to jump in front of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. A March 1-5 date would fill that bill.

Technically, that still would violate the rules, but, “I don’t think that would be a problem for us,” said South Carolina GOP Chairman Chad Connelly, and New Hampshire Chairman Jack Kimball agreed.

Arizona, where Republican Gov. Jan Brewer wants to move the primary to Jan. 31, could prove a bigger problems for the RNC in enforcing its rules.

But even if Brewer doesn’t move to Jan. 31, that state’s current law—which would require a special session of its legislature to change—already includes a too-early date, Feb. 28.

Florida GOP Chairman Dave Bitner noted this morning that several other states are in the same situation—current laws specify schedule-busting dates—and may be have difficulty changing those laws in time for the coming primary season.

“I think the RNC is going to have a bunch of states to deal with,” Bitner said.