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Kentucky standing pat on presidential primary date
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By ROGER ALFORD
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- With a growing number of states pushing up their presidential primaries, Kentucky could strengthen its political muscle by keeping its traditional late May election, Secretary of State Trey Grayson said Thursday.
Grayson said Kentucky has no plans to change the date of next year's presidential primary, set for May 20, despite the rush by other states to move their elections and caucuses to January and February.
By standing pat, Grayson said Kentucky could become a player in the presidential race, but only if the race is so close that the likely nominees aren't decided until the last votes are counted.
"It would be very ironic if a state like Kentucky that hasn't moved up becomes a player by doing nothing," Grayson said.
Grayson called such a scenario "possible but unlikely."
Fifteen states, including New York and California, have moved their primary voting to Feb. 5. At least five states, including Illinois and Texas, are close to making a similar shift.
Iowa opens the presidential nomination process with its caucuses on Jan. 14. Nevada Democrats hold their caucus on Jan. 19 and New Hampshire is tentatively scheduled to hold the nation's first primary on Jan. 22.
Last week, Florida joined South Carolina Democrats with plans for a primary on Jan. 29.
Kentucky's primary is set for May 20. Only four states have later primaries -- Idaho and Washington on May 27 and Montana and South Carolina on June 3.
Grayson, Kentucky's top election official, said he doesn't recommend moving next year's presidential primary because it would cost $5 million and likely not benefit the state.
State Rep. Dottie Sims, D-Horse Cave, vice chairwoman of the House elections committee, said Kentucky lawmakers don't seem inclined to change the primary date. It could conceivably be done in a special session, but Sims said she has detected no sentiment to do that.
Grayson favors a plan to hold rotating regional presidential primaries beginning in 2012, a move that would end the rush by states to be the first to vote.
Proposed by the National Association of Secretaries of State, the plan would group states into four geographic region -- East, South, Midwest and West -- and the regions would rotate the right to vote first every four years. A lottery would determine the order.
Grayson said the proposal would give states like Kentucky that are largely ignored by primary candidates some clout in choosing presidential nominees.
The current system, where states are competing among themselves to be the first to hold primaries, isn't working well, Grayson said.
"It's setting up a real free-for-all," he said.
Earlier this year, lawmakers in Kentucky adjusted the general election filing deadline to ensure the Republican presidential candidate would appear on the state's ballot in 2007.
Kentucky's filing deadline for presidential candidates would have passed before Republicans officially choose the nominee at the 2007 national convention. |
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