Senate Votes to Move Michigan’s Presidential Primary
Update: Nov 14-Dec 9, 2022
On Tuesday, November 29, the Michigan State Senate approved, by a vote of 34 to 1, legislation that would move the 2024 presidential primary a month earlier. Senate Bill 1207, sponsored by Sen. Wayne A. Schmidt (R-Grand Traverse), would change Michigan’s presidential primary from the second Tuesday in March to the second Tuesday in February.
Earlier this year, a panel of Democratic National Committee (DNC) members voted to eliminate Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status for presidential primaries. On December 2, the Democratic Rules and Bylaws Committee approved moving South Carolina’s primary to February 3, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire three days later. Georgia and Michigan would vote thereafter.
SB 1207 did not pass the Michigan House of Representatives prior to adjournment for the year. If passed out of both chambers in the new legislative session, it will need sign-off from both national parties.