Arizona law sets the 2012 presidential primary on February 28, but the law also gives the Governor the authority to change that date. On July 21, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer suggested she is inclined to move the primary into January. See this story. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for the link.
Although press stories focus on the impact this would have on the Republican presidential contest, the proposed early Arizona primary could also impact the Libertarian Party and the Green Party. Both are entitled to a presidential primary in Arizona if they desire one. In 1996, the Arizona Libertarian Party and the Arizona Democratic Party won a court order, saying that if a party doesn’t want the state to hold a presidential primary for itself, then the state should respect the party’s wishes and not hold one. Republicans also refused a presidential primary in Arizona in 2004. Arizona held no presidential primaries before 1996.
In 2008 the Libertarian Party declined to participate in the state’s presidential primary, but held its own party-financed mail presidential primary. The Arizona Green Party has never before been entitled to participate in a government presidential primary. Although the Green Party successfully petitioned to be a qualified party in 2000 and 2008, it didn’t qualify in time for its own presidential primary. For 2012, however, the Greens are already qualified so they could have their first presidential primary if they wish to.
Jan Brewer is the worst Governor, I have every came across., she has done nothing for AZ,She does not no what shes doing so she hires, people to tell her what to do, i say get her out of office, AZ voted laws in crys to the Feds to help her out,She has not help AZ Get jobs, she has not let Decent people in us instead locks them up in private prisons, that gave her a lot of money for they need to recall the votes on her, she has wasted 3 million dollars on nothing, no jobs no insurance, she making money she has insurance, We live in a state that has sun, it could become solar state of US people have lost there homes, family,s but she does not care, I do not no how she got in office I say recall the vote,s on her”
Why do the EVIL robot party hacks LOVE playing their MORON games in Prez years about primary/caucus election dates ???
Makes them feel important ???
Abolish the timebomb Electoral College.
App.V. for all elected executive offices and all judges.
I agree with Pamela and Demo Rep the state of Arizona has gone to hell in handbag. I still don’t know how this Dictator got elected. The unemployment rate has increased in the last 2 years with no sign of improvement. Brewer thinks she is God and has made nothing but terrible choices for the state. If people hadn’t been so lazy and done the research they would have never voted for her. Brewer is rated number 4 in the top 10 of all time worst governors in the US. I think if she keeps up her moronic choices you could see a revolution in this state. She and her cabinet need to all be fired.
wow op, bad ass post! Don’t you think you might’ve went into it a bit much tho? haha
Well, let me the first person to stay on the topic of this post. As co-chair of the Pinal County Greens and the Green Party candidate for Congress in AZ-06 in 2010, I hope the party leaders will agree to have a presidential primary.
A nice feature of Arizona’s law is that anyone who is a member of the party having a presidential primary can fill out and sign a form and will appear on the ballot as a presidential candidate. Talk about ballot access! I tried it out just for fun in 2008, and I ran in the Democratic presidential primary. The morning after the election, returns showed me just ahead of former Alaska U.S. Senator Mike Gravel, who actually appeared in the debates with Obama, Clinton, Biden, Edwards, et al. http://grayson-for-congress.blogspot.com/2008/02/how-did-i-beat-mike-gravel-in-arizona.html
Later, he ended up a few votes ahead of me. Oh well.
I think an Arizona Green presidential primary would energize the state party and the national party and I urge the Arizona Green Party leaders not to decline to participate.
(Of course, I don’t have much clout with them. Readers of the Ballot Access News can see that back in 2010, the party unsuccessfully sued to get me off the ballot after I won the primary in the Sixth Congressional District.)