By Chip Scutari
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 11, 2003
Arizona will gain unprecedented attention in next year's presidential sweepstakes
under a proclamation signed Monday by Gov. Janet Napolitano moving the state
primary to Feb. 3.
The date, one week after New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary, would
make Arizona the first large state to hold a primary and the first state with
healthy Hispanic and Native American populations.
Napolitano said the early Republican and Democratic primary, moved up from Feb. 24, will boost Arizona's economy by pouring campaign advertising dollars into the state.
"Everybody knows that having an earlier primary gives us more influence, gives us more national attention and will be better for Arizona voters," Napolitano said. "The TV stations should love me for this."
Illinois and Missouri also are considering moving their primaries to Feb. 3, joining South Carolina on that date.
Napolitano's proclamation does not require the approval of state legislators.
Some Republican legislative leaders want to eliminate the $3 million that has been budgeted to pay for the primaries. But Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, said the cost of hosting a presidential primary isn't a "make-or-break thing" in budget talks.
"I can live with it either way," Bennett said.
Bob Fannin, chairman of the Arizona GOP, criticized Napolitano for putting "politics" above the state's $1.4 billion budget crisis.
"What will happen now is that these presidential candidates and their staff will be knocking on her door and calling her all the time," Fannin said. "It will be a huge distraction. It's very sad we're doing this in a time of fiscal crisis."
To that, Napolitano retorted:
"My response to Mr. Fannin is that this governor is perfectly capable of multitasking."
The early caucus in Iowa and New Hampshire's primary don't offer the melting pot of voters that Arizona, with its 10 electoral votes, offers.
Six or seven possible Democratic candidates are expected to spend up to $600,000 in public financing in Arizona to get their message out. The candidates most likely will set up campaign headquarters in Arizona. The national media will be in the state for several months.
Democrats note that Arizona's last two presidential primaries, which included only Republicans, were paid for by state taxpayers.
Top presidential candidates appear to have anticipated an early Arizona primary.
Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., has visited Arizona five times over the past year, while Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., has been here twice during that span.
In 1996, then-Gov. Fife Symington engineered a Feb. 27 primary for Republicans to draw national attention and boost the chances of then-Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, the man Symington backed for president. Rules then in the Democratic Party bylaws prevented Arizona from competing in a February primary.
State Democrats say the Feb. 3 primary will get Arizona some much-needed attention in Washington, D.C.
"No matter how you look at the political map, you have to win Arizona to win the White House," said Paul Hegarty, executive director at the Arizona Democratic Party.
"To have all these national leaders come to Arizona is a great way for
our state to get some attention from the federal government. Those guys will
be looking forward to campaigning in sunny Arizona after spending time in chilly
New Hampshire."
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