Republicans
could be less than three months away from selecting the first delegates of their 2012 nomination contest:
Nevada’s Republican Party has set its presidential caucuses for Jan. 14 — a move that could increase the chances of the 2012 nominating contest beginning in 2011.
Here's why:
New Hampshire law states that its first-in-the-nation primary must be held at least eight days before every state but Iowa, while Iowa’s state law says its first-in-the-nation caucuses must be held seven days before any other contest.
If Nevada sticks with Jan. 14, and those two states follow the letter of the law, Iowa would have to hold its caucuses in December, while New Hampshire, which typically holds its primary on a Tuesday, would go no later than Jan. 3.
Unless the states come up with a rationale to ignore their law (which happened in 2008), the GOP nominating contests would look something like this:
- Iowa: December 27 (or earlier)
- New Hampshire: January 3
- Nevada: January 14
- South Carolina: January 21
- Florida: January 31
Pretty absurd, eh? But that's what you get when when you let two petulant and arrogant states control the start of the presidential selection process for both parties.