Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Maryland Presidential Primary to April 3

On Tuesday May 10, Governor Martin O'Malley (D) signed HB 671, moving the presidential primary in Maryland from the second Tuesday in February to the first Tuesday in April. This completes the dismantling of the Potomac Primary from the 2008 cycle. Virginia previously moved from the same February date to the first Tuesday in March and the District of Columbia last month shifted the date of its primary to the first Tuesday in April. Maryland, then, will join its neighbor to the south in April.

That date is currently shared by Kansas (legislation there seeks to cancel the Sunflower state's primary) and may, depending on how the process unfold in Texas, be joined later by the Lone Star state.

Due to this date change, Maryland Republicans will be able to maintain its winner-take-all delegate allocation and Maryland Democrats will be able to take advantage of increased delegates for holding a later contest.

[Click to Enlarge]

NOTE: With Maryland, Virginia and Washington (DC) now officially scheduled for new dates, February 14 is clear for New Hampshire (assuming all the other February states comply with the national party rules, of course).


Thanks to Matt Verghese for passing this news along.


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