The news that Georgia would hold its presidential primary on Super Tuesday broke last evening, but Secretary of State Brian Kemp confirmed it this morning in a press conference at the capitol. Here is an excerpt from the statement from his office:
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp announced today that the state will hold its presidential preference primary on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.
Secretary Kemp stated, “My decision to hold Georgia’s presidential preference primary on March 6, 2012 protects the interests of Georgia voters. By holding our presidential primary election on March 6, 2012 we can ensure that the voices of Georgia voters are heard and are relevant in the presidential candidate nomination process.”
The Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 454 this year, which allows the Secretary of State to set the presidential preference primary date.
Secretary Kemp added, “I want to officially invite the presidential candidates to visit our state and discuss and debate the issues with Georgia voters, just as
they have done in the early caucus and primary states for more than a year.“Finally, I want to stress that we have committed in good faith to abiding by the rules set forth by the Republican National Committee so Georgia will not suffer a loss of delegates, and I highly encourage the Republican National Committee to enforce its rules as this process continues.”
Florida faces losing delegates after announcing that its primary will be held on January 31st. The RNC wants Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina to continue the tradition of holding the first primaries/caucuses.
Here is video of the announcement:
Here are the rest of the states that will hold their primary or caucus on Super Tuesday, according to Frontloading HQ, a great blog that covers this sort of stuff:
Colorado Democratic caucuses, Idaho Republican caucuses, Massachusetts, Minnesota Democratic caucuses, North Dakota Republican caucuses, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming Republican caucuses (through March 10)
The most recent poll in Georgia showed Texas Gov. Rick Perry leading the field.
