Florida may face showdown over early 2012 primary

Florida may be headed for a showdown with the Republican Party and the early primary states over the date of its 2012 presidential primary.

Some early-state Republicans are even calling for the party's national convention in Tampa to be moved to another state if Florida sticks to its schedule-busting, January primary.

The January date jumps ahead of Iowa, New Hampshire and other early states, breaking party rules.

"I would not be averse to pulling the convention if Florida doesn't follow the parameter of the rules," said Karen Floyd, party chairman in South Carolina, one of four states approved by both parties to hold early primaries.

"If you can't play by the rules you can't receive the benefit of those rules," she said.

While that may not be likely, there are other sanction possibilities as well.

"There's nothing off the table," Floyd said.

But powerful Florida Republicans, led by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, say Florida should stick with its early date.

He argues that Florida will be decisive in the general election, so it should hold a premier place in choosing the GOP nominee.

"No Republican can win the presidency of the United States without winning the state of Florida, so it behooves us to make sure that our nominee is someone that is palatable in Florida," Rubio said in a statement from his office Friday.

He spoke defiantly about the prospect of sanctions.

"If the RNC thinks the way to win Florida is to sanction the most important swing state in the country, then good luck to them," he said.

Florida Republicans aren't unanimous, however.

Gov. Rick Scott has said he wants the primary as early as possible without costing the state any delegates to the convention. Party rules say a January primary means cutting the delegation in half.

State party Chairman Dave Bitner and other party leaders also favor moving the date.

But the state Legislature decides the date, and Senate President Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker Dean Cannon both lean toward Rubio's view.

Bitner, who's negotiating the issue with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, dismissed the idea that Florida might lose the convention.

"I can tell you from the horse's mouth that's not a possibility," he said, after meeting with Priebus in Washington Wednesday night. "There hasn't been any discussion of that."

"We're trying to find a resolution."

Political insiders think an early primary creates the most influence on the nomination contest. Sanctions including loss of delegates are minor compared to the state's enhanced status as a campaign battleground and the momentum a winning candidate would receive.

"The benefits outweigh the risks," Cannon said.

In 2008, Haridopolos said, John McCain's January Florida win made him frontrunner for the nomination, despite similar RNC rules then in place.

The party has since tightened those rules and coordinated with the Democratic Party to to stem the tide of states moving their dates up for more influence.

Both parties chose Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina for February primaries or caucuses; all others must wait until March.

But early-state leaders don't want their prestige spots threatened. All four states can move their dates easily.

"I will maintain our very traditional role as the kickoff state no matter what other states do," said Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn.

New Hampshire GOP Chairman Jack Kimball and Nevada GOP Chairman Mark Amodei wouldn't comment for this story, but a Kimball spokeswoman Christine Baratta said he considers keeping its primary the first in the nation "a major priority."

Some early-staters want to go further.

Floyd said regardless of the convention site, Florida's delegates shouldn't be seated if it violates the primary schedule.

New Hampshire GOP blogger Craig Robinson, former political director for the state party, also recommended moving the convention.

"This is a real test for the [Republican National Committee] leadership," he said. "Why Florida was awarded the convention after they violated RNC rules last time is beyond me. The only thing the leadership could do now is threaten to move it out of the state."

Bitner said he hopes for a compromise in which Florida would get the fifth spot, immediately after the four early states.

The 2012 Democratic primary isn't considered crucial, on the assumption that Obama won't face a serious Democratic challenger. But in 2008, a long, tangled controversy dogged the Florida Democratic primary, after early-state Democratic parties demanded the Democratic candidates boycott the state.

The candidates complied.

None of the early-state Republicans mentioned a boycott as a possibility this year.