The Primary Rush

Yesterday, Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill into law that moved the Florida primary for the 2008 presidential election up to January 28. The reasoning for the shift is logical. Like California, Florida is a large state that believes because of its size and electoral importance in the General Election, it should be allowed to have an influence on who the candidates will be.

In the past, the Florida primary took place on Super Tuesday alongside numerous primaries from other states. However, the importance of the results on Super Tuesday have wained in recent years. By the time Super Tuesday arrives, the candidates for both parties if not decided are very limited in numbers.

The main concerns that I have with early primaries, especially in large states like Florida and California, are numerous. For one, because ad time in large markets is very expensive, second tier candidates are eliminated close to a year before the election. In the past, a second tier candidate was able to gain momentum in smaller states such Iowa and New Hampshire. This momentum would lead to increased fund raising, and a greater chance of success when it came to Super Tuesday. Therefore, the mad rush to move primaries up will create a greater need to fund raise more, and faster. This will only increase the already exuberant amount of money being raised and spent before the general election.

So what should be done to balance the arguments of big states and that of the second tier candidates? The solution that I see has to do with campaign finance reform at its ultimate - public funding of elections. I understand the argument that restricting funds for elections also restricts freedom of speech - the cornerstone of the American Constitution - but I believe limited funds will just make candidates become more creative in getting their messages out. Also, it might be advisable to shorten the election season. In Britain, Parliament is dissolved, and an election occurs within roughly ten weeks. Although we have set election dates making this process almost impossible in the American system, a creative way to limit the amount of time that candidates campaign would be much appreciated by both citizens and candidates a like. For some reason I don't believe any of the active candidates for the '08 election really like being out there at this date flying from state to state knowing this madness may not end until November of 2008.