Michigan Republicans would vote for their presidential nominee on March 15th of next year under a bill that’s cleared the state Senate.
We have more from The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta.
The new date would bring the state into compliance with national GOP rules. Otherwise, Michigan could lose most of its votes at the national nominating convention next summer for holding its primary too close to the early states of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.
State Senator Dave Robertson says he wants Michigan to be pivotal next year.
“I just want to make certain that Michigan is well positioned, and I think we will be and we are, within the Midwest region, well positioned to get the maximum amount of attention from the greatest number of candidates,” he says.
March 15th could potentially be a Midwest “super-primary.” Illinois and Missouri already have elections then and more states could join. But some Republicans still hope to push Michigan to go even earlier.