Republicans Could Hold 2016 Convention as Early as June, Don’t Want Primary Voting to Start Until February

The 2016
presidential primary season may be expected to start even earlier
than the last two, but the Republican party
approved a plan today that would see the first primary now
earlier than February 1, 2016 and a convention as early as
June.

From RealClearPolitics:

The Republican National Committee on Friday passed
sweeping rule changes designed to tighten its control over the GOP
presidential nominating process and provide the party’s 2016
standard-bearer a leg up in the general election.

The new rules will increase the penalties against states that hold
their primary or caucus date before the period designated by the
RNC and will move the Republican convention from the late summer to
early summer, allowing the eventual nominee more time to spend
general election funds.

Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida will be the
only states allowed to hold their nominating contests in February,
with penalties for violating the rules stiffer than they were the
last time around, when a number of states tried to schedule their
primaries earlier than the votes in Iowa and New Hampshire. States
that hold their contests between March 1 and March 14, 2016, will
be required to award delegates proportionally, in an apparent
attempt to prevent any one candidate from gaining too much momentum
at the start of the March contests.

A specific date and host city for the 2016 convention wasn’t
selected at this RNC meeting.

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