Dean Cannon Says Florida Primary Could Leapfrog to Jan. 31

Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon dropped a bomb on the 2012 political calendar when he told CNN that the state could set its primary for Jan. 31.

That date would potentially leapfrog over South Carolina and Nevada -- two states in which the national parties have designated early votes.

South Carolina has yet to finalize its date, and the bipartisan Florida committee tasked with setting the primary date is scheduled to do so in Tallahassee on Friday.

According to one possible scenario, the first five primaries and caucuses would roll out this way:

Jan. 16 -- Iowa caucuses.
Jan. 24 -- New Hampshire primary.
Jan. 28 -- South Carolina primary, Nevada caucuses.
Jan. 31 -- Florida primary.