Missouri Likely to Hold 2012 GOP Primary on February 7

Add Missouri to the list of states likely to have an early Presidential Primary in 2012 – February 7:

AP: Missouri is poised to hold an early presidential primary next year, a move that could inject more confusion into the 2012 election calendar by prompting other states to elbow to the front of the campaign line.

Lawmakers are moving closer to the end of a special legislative session without rescheduling the primary now set for Feb. 7, as national party officials would prefer. The February date would make Missouri’s vote the second presidential contest in the nation, a day after Iowa’s caucuses and before the New Hampshire primary. Saturday is the deadline for states to schedule their 2012 primaries. The prospect of action by Missouri lawmakers before then appears slim. . . . Read More

To make it even more confusing, to avoid losing 50% of its delegate to the 2012 GOP Convention, Missouri may hold the primary on February 7 but actually allocate their delegates to the convention through a caucus system in March – thus not violating the RNC rules about holding their delegate allocation contest prior to March 6.