Stories

It was just a formality, but now it’s official: The Republican National Committee has taken away half the delegates from five calendar-leapfrogging states.

The RNC voted 121-9 Thursday to punish New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming for holding binding, delegate-choosing contests before Feb. 5.  Iowa’s Jan. 3 caucuses are not affected because the presidential [...]

In a long-expected move, the executive committee of the Republican Committee voted Monday to strip half the delegates from five states that moved their primaries up beyond a start date of Feb. 5. 

But even though the Iowa GOP jumped from Jan. 14 to Jan. 3, they won’t be penalized, because the presidential vote at the [...]

(Analysis) Officially, the Iowa Democratic caucus date is set by the Iowa Democratic Party.  But this year, outside forces — escalating leapfrog attacks from jealous states, stricter national party rules, a governor who committed early to a January date and the determination of Iowa Republicans to move forward — may limit the moves of Iowa [...]

Ongoing disputes over the Iraq war between Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Bill Richardson are commonplace on the Iowa campaign trail. Barbs of words have been launched from both sides, during public appearances as well as through official campaign press releases.
Although candidates in a primary will typically try to to keep personal [...]

The South Carolina Democrats are asking the DNC for official permission to move their primary up from Jan. 29 to Jan. 19, the New York Times reports.  Nevada is currently scheduled for the 19th, but reports last week indicated they would likely move to Jan. 12 to keep their place in line.

The request makes official [...]

Today’s update on the Fight To Be First:
The Republican calendar has received less attention that the meticulously planned Democratic schedule.  But the GOP is now weighing in with plans to punish five leapfrogging states (Florida, Michigan, Wyoming, South Carolina, and New Hampshire), in what the NY Times calls a “rare instance of the two parties [...]

The Manchester Union-Leader is reporting that the South Carolina Republican chair will announce his state’s GOP primary date on Thursday — at the New Hampshire state capitol.

Observers, including the New Hampshire Republican chair, expect the date to be Jan. 22 — the currently scheduled New Hampshire date.  Talking Points Memo calls the New Hampshire-based announcement [...]

Iowa and the other three states set to lead the 2008 presidential nomination process are not represented on a list of national finance chairs and co-chairs recently announced by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s campaign.
The men and women on the list represent 21 states — New York, Tennessee, Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida, Kansas, Utah, Washington, Michigan, [...]

Journalists call it “string saving” — collecting little bits and pieces that can eventually be tied together into a story.  Here are the loose threads of the week.
Caucus Date Leapfrog Update: Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic says South Carolina GOP chairman Katon Dawson will “definitely” move the party’s primary from Jan. 29.  South Carolina [...]

There weren’t just peace marches and labor events on May Day yesterday, there were also immigration marches across the country.  In the Quad Cities, 40-50 people joined a march that, one year ago, attracted upwards of 2,000.  The QC Times quotes one of the organizers as saying, “Immigration proponents have to move quickly before any [...]