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NJ presidential primary date moves back to June
Even if New Jersey residents have a chance to vote for Gov. Chris Christie in a presidential primary next year, it won’t be until June.
That’s because Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno — who is acting governor while Christie is out of state — signed a law Monday that moves the New Jersey presidential primary back to its traditional month, to be held with the other political primaries for local and state offices.
Going back to a single primary is estimated to save New Jersey $12 million by avoiding the costs of hiring poll workers and counting ballots for another election.
New Jersey had moved the 2008 primary to Feb. 26, putting it in a “Super Tuesday” with other earlier primary states, in an effort to give the Garden State more clout during the presidential election.
When even more states joined in, New Jersey moved the date up again, to Feb. 5.
Guadagno said Monday that the change had been a failed experiment. “It didn’t have the impact we thought it would have,” she said, since New Jersey gained no extra political clout or appearances by political candidates. (Method, Gannett)