Michigan wants 2008 GOP primary same day as South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. --Michigan's Republican Party wants to reshape the 2008 GOP presidential primary map by sending voters to the polls the same day as South Carolina.

But Katon Dawson, the South Carolina Republican Party chairman, said Monday that the state doesn't want to share its early primary date with Michigan.

Michigan GOP Chairman Saul Anuzis said he'd like to hold Michigan's election the first week of February, making it the third or fourth in the country, and to hold both the state's GOP primary and the Democratic presidential selection process on the same day.

The Michigan GOP is "now in the process of finalizing on the state level," he said.

Michigan's proposal could knock South Carolina off center stage as the first primary after the New Hampshire primary and Iowa caucus.

Michigan Republicans didn't hold a presidential primary in 2004 because President Bush faced no challengers, but they played a pivotal role in keeping alive U.S. Sen. John McCain's campaign in 2000. That year's Feb. 22 contest drew a record 1.3 million voters, including Democrats and independents, allowing the Arizona senator to upset then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

McCain wasn't able to maintain his momentum, however, and Bush won the nomination.

Michigan Democrats held their most recent presidential primary on Feb. 7 in 2004. But even with that early date, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean was fading and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry had no trouble winning the state on his way to winning the Democratic nomination.

Michigan Democrats plan to petition by April 14 to be one of the early states in the national party's revised election calendar, state Chairman Mark Brewer said Monday.

Anuzis said he's seeking legislative approval that would give parties flexibility to hold primaries when they want. In Michigan, the GOP primary is paid for and run by the state. In South Carolina, the GOP picks up the tab and runs the show.

Dawson said there's no deal to share a primary date with Michigan.

"They certainly would like there to be," Dawson said. "Everybody in the country would like to be on the same date as South Carolina."

The state won't name its GOP primary date until the Republican National Committee's deadline in September 2007, Dawson said. The date likely will be sometime in early 2008.

Dawson said Michigan officials have been calling and e-mailing, but Anuzis said they don't need South Carolina's approval.

"I wasn't asking," Anuzis said. "I don't need permission."

Dawson said states "want a piece of the money and a piece of the influence that we garner here in South Carolina."

South Carolinians have "always made a responsible pick for the presidential nominee," Dawson said. The state's compact size allows campaigns to stump the entire state in a day and spend cash on just four media markets, he said.

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Associated Press writer Kathy Barks Hoffman in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.