Florida to Leapfrog Everybody in Primary Race

The presidential primary race next year will be the shortest in history and states jostle to move their primaries to earlier and earlier dates. Feb. 5 is already shaping up to be the deciding day for the campaigns (that's when California and a number of other states will vote), and now Florida is leapfrogging all of them and choosing January 29:

Tallahassee – Hoping to muscle Florida into a pre-eminent role in picking next year's Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, the state House voted Wednesday to leapfrog almost all the other states and set a Jan. 29 primary, with an option to go even earlier.

The change, championed by House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami, and approved 115-1, is part of a national rush by states coveting the clout of Iowa and New Hampshire. Those states have enormous sway in choosing presidential candidates, even though they are small and, some say, unrepresentative of the nation's people and politics. The proposal must still pass the Senate.

"Florida is obviously going to be the big enchilada on the 29th. It will immediately become very, very important," said Nichol Rae, political science professor at Florida International University.

Next year's race will consist of frantic effort during the first 6 weeks of the year followed by months of nothing before the real races kick off after the conventions. I don't think the voters are going to be well served by these front loaded primaries. Instead of seasoning candidates with races spread over several months, whoever is the flavor-of-the-day on those early primary dates will be the winner, even if he or she isn't the party's best candidate.