Level Primary Playing Field Within Reach
Roy Maynard
In the future, Texas could matter. It even could help pick — not just pay for — presidential nominees.
A big topic of conversation at last week’s Policy Orientation held by the Texas Public Policy Foundation had nothing to do with the agenda. It was the primary system.
There was general agreement that if March 4 comes around and neither party has already picked a presidential nominee, Texas could play a role. But that will be a fluke, and no indication that the system isn’t broken.
And it’s still quite likely that clear front-runners could emerge as early as Feb. 5.
There was general agreement that if March 4 comes around and neither party has already picked a presidential nominee, Texas could play a role. But that will be a fluke, and no indication that the system isn’t broken.
And it’s still quite likely that clear front-runners could emerge as early as Feb. 5.
That would mean, once again, early states including Iowa and New Hampshire played disproportionately large roles in picking the nominees.
But I heard some interesting ideas to fix that system last week. One involves rotating regional primaries.
It’s actually not a new idea. Back in 1991, Illinois Sen. Alan Dixon wrote a bill to create eight regional primaries. His clearly stated goal was to decrease the influence of Iowa and New Hampshire; those states set the tone for the campaign season, even though they only have about 2 percent of the nation’s population.
But I heard some interesting ideas to fix that system last week. One involves rotating regional primaries.
It’s actually not a new idea. Back in 1991, Illinois Sen. Alan Dixon wrote a bill to create eight regional primaries. His clearly stated goal was to decrease the influence of Iowa and New Hampshire; those states set the tone for the campaign season, even though they only have about 2 percent of the nation’s population.
“It makes no sense for a presidential candidate to go out to Iowa and visit a lady whose rule is she doesn’t endorse anybody until that candidate sits in her kitchen 10 different times and gets checked off on the chart on her icebox door,” Dixon said at the time. “That is no way to select the president of the United States. Our current nominating system is a mess.”
His plan would have divided the country into eight regions, with primaries held from March through June. The order of the elections would be chosen at random by the Federal Elections Commission.
His plan would have divided the country into eight regions, with primaries held from March through June. The order of the elections would be chosen at random by the Federal Elections Commission.
A more recent proposal comes from the National Association of Secretaries of State.
That group wants to divide states into four regions — the East, South, Midwest and West. — and hold four primaries, each a month apart, between March and June.
“All states in a region would schedule their primaries on the same day,” reports Stateline.org. “The order of the contests would rotate every presidential election year.”
That group wants to divide states into four regions — the East, South, Midwest and West. — and hold four primaries, each a month apart, between March and June.
“All states in a region would schedule their primaries on the same day,” reports Stateline.org. “The order of the contests would rotate every presidential election year.”
In a bow to tradition, New Hampshire and Iowa would keep their positions as the first two states to choose a presidential nominee.
But the big primaries following quickly would help put the smaller states into perspective.
The current primary system is confusing, even for professionals. No one can agree on what anything means. What does a win in Iowa, or Michigan, or Wyoming mean? Is Rudy Giuliani crazy to pin all his hopes on Florida?
Still, the current confusion — the polls that are wrong and the pundits who are even more wrong — could help spur reform.
But the big primaries following quickly would help put the smaller states into perspective.
The current primary system is confusing, even for professionals. No one can agree on what anything means. What does a win in Iowa, or Michigan, or Wyoming mean? Is Rudy Giuliani crazy to pin all his hopes on Florida?
Still, the current confusion — the polls that are wrong and the pundits who are even more wrong — could help spur reform.
“No one is arguing that the system isn’t a wreck,” one legislator told me.
And that’s where reform begins.
Early Returns is the political observations column of staff writer Roy Maynard, who can be reached at 903-596-6291 or at roymaynardtmt@gmail.com.
And that’s where reform begins.
Early Returns is the political observations column of staff writer Roy Maynard, who can be reached at 903-596-6291 or at roymaynardtmt@gmail.com.
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