End of Legislative Session Kills January Presidential Primary Bill in Texas

This one was unlikely to go anywhere from the start, but HB 1214 -- the bill to move the Texas presidential primary to the last Tuesday in January -- died in committee when the state legislature in the Lone Star state adjourned for 2015 on Monday,  June 1.

With the Texas primary already scheduled for the first Tuesday in March -- tied for the fifth position on the calendar and the biggest delegate prize on that date -- a move to January never really made sense. In the committee hearing on the legislation, supporters made the case for moving Texas into a position of maximum importance on the primary calendar -- first -- without considering that the carve-out states would do exactly what they have done over the last two presidential election cycles: move their contests ahead of any states interloping on their turf. In the end Texas would have have moved up on the calendar but remained in the fifth position.

Again, it made no sense to move the primary, keep the same calendar position and lose 90% of the Texas Republican delegation in the process. That is why this was never a serious bill. Well, that and the fact that similar bills have been filed, heard and have gone nowhere during most legislative sessions over the last decade.

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