Gov. Janet Napolitano has decided to move up the state’s presidential primary by three weeks to Feb. 5, joining at least 19 other states with votes on that date.
The governor will invoke her authority under state law and move the primary from Feb. 26, aides told The Associated Press on Aug. 21.
Napolitano chose the new date because it provides the earliest chance for Arizona to have its primary to vote on the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees without breaking national political party rules, said Noah Kroloff, deputy chief of staff for policy.
Other states pick same date
The moves come as nearly a dozen other late voting states, including California and New Jersey, have already moved their primaries or caucuses to Feb. 5. The bid to hold earlier primaries gives states more influence in selecting a party’s nominee for the 2008 presidential race.
In past elections, early primaries effectively determined who would have the parties’ nominations because winners established themselves as front-runners and rivals then bowed out of races. That meant large states with later primaries, such as California, had little role in the selection process.
Napolitano, a Democrat, believes Arizonans will benefit from having an early primary because candidates will be more likely to visit the state and learn about immigration, water and growth issues, Kroloff said.
“Sometimes they enter the presidential debates and sometimes they don’t, but if you have Arizona in a position where we’re early like this, the candidates are going to have to be in a position to think about them, and that’s the advantage for Arizona,” Kroloff said.
Several other states are trying to move their primaries or caucuses to dates earlier than permitted by party rules.