STATEMENT FROM RPOF CHAIRMAN LENNY CURRY
ON PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATE

Today, under the authority provided them by Florida statute and their selection by Governor Scott, Speaker Cannon and Senate President Haridopolos, the nine members of the Presidential Preference Primary Date Selection Committee chose January 31st as our state’s date. As I have said before, the Republican Party of Florida was always prepared to work with the date selected by those with the legal authority to do so. We appreciate that the Committee engaged in a thorough process. That process included discussion of a range of dates from January 3rd to March 6th or later, so this compromise of January 31st  properly reflects the importance Florida will play on the national stage. We look forward to having a great primary, and then hosting a world-class convention for our party’s nominee. Florida will be the most important state in our efforts to defeat Barack Obama.

Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn Responds to Florida's January 31 Primary Announcement

Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn today issued the following statement regarding the announcement that Florida will hold its presidential primary on January 31, 2012.
 
"The arrogance shown by Florida's elected leadership is disappointing, but not surprising. Equally troubling is to see this petulant behavior rewarded with our national convention. The consequences of Florida's intransigence must be swift and severe, including the refusal by the RNC to credential or seat any member of Florida's presidential primary date commission at the 2012 RNC convention in Tampa.
 
"Regarding the timing of the First in the Nation Iowa Caucuses, Iowa will remain first. Consistent with tradition, the final Iowa Caucus date will be announced once New Hampshire sets the date of its First in the Nation Primary.”

In a statement released today, following Florida’s decision to conduct its primary in January, Secretary of State William Gardner made the following comments:

    "For more than half a century, beginning in 1916, the New Hampshire Presidential Primary was held every four years on the second Tuesday of March, our traditional town meeting day.

    In 1972, the State of Florida decided by law to have its Presidential Primary on the same day as New Hampshire. They were not successful. Since then we have not been able to continue having the primary on the second Tuesday in March, the only date specified in our state law to this day.

    Unfortunately, we will be unable to have the upcoming Presidential Primary on the second Tuesday in March and still continue to honor the tradition of our First in the Nation Presidential Primary.

    Because we cannot rule out the possibility of conducting the primary before the end of this year, we are, regrettably, as we were four years ago, forced to move the presidential candidates filing period to October."

The two-week filing period for the upcoming NEW HAMPSHIRE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY will begin on Monday, October 17, 2011 and end on Friday, October 28, 2011.

Filings will be accepted at the Secretary of State's Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The office will be open until 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the filing period. Any filing made on the LAST day (October 28, 2011) of the filing period must be made IN PERSON by the candidate.

The Declaration of Candidacy form is available on the Secretary of State's website: http://www.sos.nh.gov/presprim2012/index.htm This form and the fee of $1,000 (cash or certified check) is required to be submitted by any person filing for the Office of President of the United States.

The last day for voters interested in changing their party affiliation is Friday, October 14, 2011. The supervisors of the checklist in every town will be meeting at a minimum of between 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on that day for the purpose of correcting the checklist.

Columbia, S.C. - SCGOP Chairman Chad Connelly today issued a statement following Florida's decision to move its primary to January 31, 2012:

"Today's decision by Florida is hugely disappointing and could have been avoided. Rogue states have once again dictated the Presidential nominating calendar. I call on my fellow RNC members and all Republicans to strongly condemn Florida's decision to hold their primary on January 31.

"States who have worked so hard to maintain the nominating calendar should not be penalized and the offenders, including Florida, should lose their entire allocations of delegates at the National Convention. Rules matter and the four traditional early states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina) did everything they could to avoid this unfortunate situation.

"South Carolina's primary date will not be announced today."