Michigan to Shift Primary to Jan. 15

Move forces New Hampshire earlier; Iowa mulls December
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 18, 2007 9:51 PM CDT
Michigan to Shift Primary to Jan. 15
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., left, accompanied by Senate Majority Leader harry Reid of Nev., talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 18, 2007, following a vote on an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)   (Associated Press)

Michigan is about to move its 2008 presidential primary to January 15th, sources inside the state Democratic and Republican parties tell MSNBC. A bill shifting the date will go before the state senate next week. The move will provoke other early states to move to earlier—as early as December—or to push to have the Michigan contest disqualified.

Sen. Carl Levin had wanted the primary held on January 8th;  some lobbied for January 22nd, to cooperate with other states jockeying to schedule early primaries. The compromise on the 15th means that New Hampshire's  primary is forced up to January 8th, while Iowa will have to decide whether to precede New Hampshire by a couple of days or even go in December—an option the governor of Iowa opposes. (More Michigan stories.)

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