Georgia’s secretary of state has wanted an “SEC primary” for months — and he’s now moving to get one.
Brian Kemp sent a letter to his counterparts in Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas and Alabama on Monday, proposing a regional primary for March 1, 2016, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“SEC” refers to the college football powerhouse Southeastern Conference, which has teams from Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The “SEC” presidential primary “will have a major impact in the selection of the presidential nominees of both parties,” Kemp wrote in his letter.
In February, Kemp told Erick Erickson that he believed voters were frequently “frustrated that the presidential primary race was over before Georgians ever got to vote,” according to Politico. “I believe that will give us an opportunity to have a say in the presidential race. … We’re also proposing basically calling this the SEC primary, if you will,” he said.
The Tennessee primary is currently scheduled for March 1, Louisiana on March 5, Georgia on March 6, Alabama and Mississippi on March 8, while Arkansas’ primary is in May.
Two other SEC states, Florida and Texas, already primary on March 1.
“I’ve been talking to other elected officials and secretaries of state in other southeastern states about going on March 1 where we’ll be a big attraction for all the candidates,” Kemp said in February. “I think if we can bond together and have a regional Super Tuesday primary, it’s going to give the candidates a reason to come to Georgia and give Georgians, Republicans and Democrats, a say in who our next president is.”
