Gov. Jan Brewer announced Friday she would not be moving the Arizona Republican primary to January 31st. She did announce, however, that the Republican National Committee had agreed to sanction official presidential debate in Arizona. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus later confirmed that Arizona had been awarded a debate and that the even could happen as early as December.
Under Arizona law, Gov. Brewer can Arizona’s primary date up from its current February 28th slot at any time as long as she gives 150 days notice prior to the new date. If Brewer had wanted to move Arizona ahead of the RNC sanctioned first four states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina) to January 31st, last Saturday was her last day to do so.
Brewer declined to commit to the February 28th date, instead insisting, “I will for the time being keep my options open.” Those options close on October 1st, when Brewer would no longer be able to name a date before the beginning of March.
Missouri, Wisconsin, and New Jersey all still have binding primary contests that violate the RNC’s first four rule. But the Missouri and New Jersey legislature’s have both passed laws, awaiting signature, that move their contest dates back into compliance. Wisconsin has a bill in the Assembly that does the same, but it has not passed yet. If Missouri, New Jersey, and Wisconsin all fall into line, the GOP primary scheduled will look like this:
Monday, February 6: Iowa caucuses
Tuesday, February 14: New Hampshire
Saturday, February 18: Nevada caucuses
Tuesday, February 28: Arizona, Michigan, South Carolina
Tuesday, March 6: Colorado caucuses, Idaho caucuses, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia
