Dem Boss Rod Smith Looks to Move Presidential Primary Back

Former Sen. Rod Smith, the chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, reached out to newly elected Republican Party of Florida Chairman David Bitner, hoping to join forces in moving the states presidential primary back.

I write today asking for your support to change the date of Floridas 2012 presidential preference primary, wrote Smith in a letter to Bitner. This move is critically important to ensure full representation of our state at our respective national conventions since Florida law currently sets the date of the presidential primary as the last Tuesday in January, which is out of compliance with the rules of both parties.

As you may know, for the first time ever the Republican National Committee has adopted the same timing rules as the Democratic National Committee, which came about through bipartisan cooperation between the two parties, added Smith. It is my sincere hope that we, in the same spirit of cooperation, can work together on selecting a date that complies with the rules set by both national parties. While changing the date of the primary would require action by the Republican Legislature and governor, I am confident that we can make this happen.