State official: N.H. primary likely before designated date

By Shira Schoenberg, Globe Correspondent

New Hampshire voters may be looking forward to another year of Christmas caroling with the presidential candidates.

The New Hampshire primary will most likely be held before the Feb. 14, 2012, date that the national parties have proposed, New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner told the Globe today.

It could be held in January – or as early as required for New Hampshire to maintain its prized first-in-the-nation primary.

“Chances are likely we’ll be before the 14th, and it’s not a close call,” Gardner said during an interview.

The Republican National Committee rules allow Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina to hold their nominating contests in February, with other states allowed to vote after March 6.

The Democratic National Committee assigned dates to each early state, with the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 14, following the Iowa caucuses and four days before the Nevada caucuses.

But several states are threatening to leapfrog ahead, trying to tap into the excitement and attention bestowed on the early states by the presidential contenders.

Florida’s primary is set for Jan. 31, and some officials there are not inclined to change it. A Florida commission has until Oct. 1 to decide when to hold the primary, and other states such as Michigan and South Carolina are waiting for Florida’s move.

Missouri and Arizona have primaries scheduled for February and require either legislative or gubernatorial action to change them. Wisconsin and West Virginia have also talked about voting before March, said Gardner and New Hampshire Republican National Committeeman Steve Duprey.

Any state that violates the RNC rules will lose half its delegates to the party convention – more important for large state like Florida than a small one like New Hampshire. Duprey said the RNC is waiting to see what Florida does.

“(RNC Chairman) Reince Priebus is probably the most supportive of the (New Hampshire) primary of any of the RNC chairs I’ve worked with over 40 years,” Duprey said. “The RNC has made it very clear if any state other than Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina goes before the first Tuesday in March, they’ll apply the rules.”

Even if the other states vote in March, New Hampshire still may not adhere to the Feb. 14 date, Gardner said.

New Hampshire law instructs the secretary of state to set the primary seven days before any similar nominating contest - and the proposed DNC calendar has just four days between New Hampshire and Nevada.

Massachusetts’s primary is set for March 6. Secretary of State William Galvin said he would prefer New Hampshire have its primary in February because the media ads spilling over from New Hampshire encourage Massachusetts voters to participate. But Galvin supports Gardner’s decision to hold the primary as early as necessary.

“I understand (New Hampshire) won’t lose its first-in-the-nation status, and it will be whenever it has to be from Mr. Gardner’s point of view,” he said.

The first time Florida challenged New Hampshire’s status, before the 1972 election, New Hampshire moved its primary a week earlier. Later that decade, it passed a law codifying its tradition of voting first, Gardner said.

Since then, jockeying for position has become a quadrennial tradition, and Gardner has proven his ability to wait as long as necessary to announce the primary date.

On Thanksgiving Eve 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Michigan could hold its primary Jan. 15, 2008. That afternoon, Gardner announced that New Hampshire’s primary would be held Jan. 8, the earliest presidential primary date ever, following a Jan. 3 caucus in Iowa.

That year, campaign staff worked over the holidays, and voters had little time to process the Iowa results before voting in New Hampshire.

“It was unsatisfactory all the way around, and both parties worked hard to correct it,” said Terry Shumaker, a former Democratic National Committeeman who has been involved in the New Hampshire primary for four decades.

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said he did not relish another early primary, though he said it is up to Gardner to set the date.

“It is my great hope that the agreed on February 14th date continues to be the date of our first-in-the-nation primary for 2012,” Buckley said. “It is in the best interest of the voters and the tradition of the primary to allow the candidates to campaign in New Hampshire without disturbing the holiday season.”

Republican Party Chairman Jack Kimball expressed confidence in Gardner.

“It is a disservice to the voters of New Hampshire if other states break the rules and force us into an earlier primary date,” Kimball said. “Secretary of State Bill Gardner will do whatever it takes to protect our first in the nation primary status and if need be he will set a date that will preserve that status and will give sufficient time between contests.”