Calif. lawmakers move presidential primary to March

State hasn’t played a role in picking the nominees since ’72.

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — California lawmakers voted early Saturday to set the state’s presidential primary in March, a move that would force candidates to mount expensive campaigns in the state that awards the most delegates.

The bill will go to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration. He has not said if he will sign it.

The bill would move the presidential primary to the Tuesday after the first Monday in March — three months earlier than the June contest held in 2016, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were already the presumptive nominees.

A March primary would likely fall on so-called “Super Tuesday,” when roughly a dozen states vote following the early primaries and caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire South Carolina and Nevada.

“Candidates will have to spend more time in California,” said Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Mullin of San Francisco.

An earlier primary could give an edge to well-funded candidates. California, the most populous state, is home to 11 media markets.

It’s easier for candidates with limited money to compete alongside financial heavy-hitters in early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire.

In 2016, for example, John Kasich took second in New Hampshire with limited money, while Jeb Bush, who had more than $100 million, placed fourth.

“The cost of playing in California versus playing in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, is incredibly different,” said Mike Biundo, who was Republican Rick Santorum’s 2012 campaign manager and later worked for Kasich and Trump. “A Jeb Bush or a Hillary Clinton, I think, have the advantage if California is earlier.”

An earlier primary, especially one held on Super Tuesday, wouldn’t mean every candidate will spend more time in the state. In 2016, for example, Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia and eight other states voted that day.

And it doesn’t ensure the political relevance that California lawmakers crave. The last time California voted early — in February 2008 — the state backed Clinton, but Barack Obama went on to win the Democratic nomination and the presidency.

California’s last truly relevant presidential primary was perhaps in 1972, when George McGovern defeated Hubert Humphrey on his way to winning the Democratic nomination.

Michael Schroeder, Republican Ted Cruz’s California political director in 2016, said it’s too early in the political calendar to predict the impact of an earlier California primary in 2020.

“Right now, California is completely irrelevant for picking presidents. We didn’t pick Hillary (Clinton) and we didn’t pick (President Donald) Trump,” he said, referring to 2016 contests that were essentially settled before the state voted.

Changing the date “will make us at least somewhat relevant; it could make us very relevant,” he said.