Updated: October 3, 11:05 a.m. ET
South Carolina Republicans are set to officially move their primary date to January 21, CNN reports. This act will violate the national GOP’s rules that reserved February for the state, and will result in the loss of half the state’s delegates — but was made necessary for the party to maintain its early position by Florida’s decision to jump the primary calendar on January 31.
The state GOP will officially makes its announcement at 11:00 a.m. today.
The national Republican Party had reserved the early February slots for four small states from different regions: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, in that order. However, Florida then decided to break the rules by scheduling its contest on January 31.
Last week, when Florida was poised to make its move, South Carolina GOP chair Chad Connelly declared to reporters: “Bottom line is that if Florida moves, I’m moving.” He also said of the potential penalties for moving up: “I’m gonna make Florida force our hand. Because like I said I’m gonna have a hissyfit at the RNC meeting if they make us accept penalties that the other states force us into.”
Over the weekend, the Nevada Republican Party voted to move its caucus to January, pinning it to four days after the New Hampshire primary (a date that has not yet been determined).
Late Update: The state GOP has made it official, releasing this statement:
Columbia, S.C. – SCGOP Chairman Chad Connelly today announced South Carolina’s 2012 Republican Presidential Primary date. Chairman Connelly commented:
“Last Friday, a nine person committee brought chaos to the 2012 calendar. Today, South Carolina is making things right.
“South Carolina Republicans have a thirty year track record of picking the eventual Republican Presidential nominee. We will continue that historic tradition on January 21, 2012.
“It will undoubtedly be a spirited campaign to make Barack Obama just the worst ONE term President in American history. We are united in this mission, and any candidate who ignores South Carolina does so at great peril.”
Additional Note: In conjunction with Fox News, the South Carolina Republican Party will also host a “First in the South” Republican Debate in the days leading up to the primary.
