California Moves Up Presidential Primary

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, seated, prepares to sign SB113 which will move California's presidential primary election from June to February during a ceremony at the Leland Stanford Mansion in Sacramento, Calif., on Thursday, March 15, 2007. Legislators with Schwarzenegger are Sen. Roy Ashburn, R-Bakersfield, Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, Senate Minority Leader Dick Ackerman, R-Irvine, Assemblyman Curren D. Price Jr., D-Inglewood, and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, from left. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater) (Steve Yeater - AP)

"Pressure will be on campaigns to figure out, OK, where do they play on Feb. 5 and where they are going to target, what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses, what do they need to do to come up with a strategy?" said Bill Carrick, a California Democratic consultant and a veteran of presidential contests.

A giant Feb. 5 also upends plans by the Democratic National Committee, which had carefully designed an early primary schedule that squeezed Nevada caucuses between Iowa's Jan. 14 caucus and New Hampshire's Jan. 22 primary and set South Carolina's primary for Jan. 29.

Party officials envisioned that the diversity of primary states could result in four regional candidates who then would fight their way through the remainder of the contests.

Some strategists suggest that a super primary could help a well-financed candidate who stumbles in the early primaries _ a possibility some call a firewall scenario.

And some aren't convinced that Feb. 5 could decide the nominations.

"Does that mean that one person will come out of a national primary as the nominee? I am not sure that is the case," National Republican Committee Chairman Michael Duncan said on C-SPAN on Sunday. "Does it affect the strategy of the candidates? Certainly, it affects the strategy of the candidates. ... They have to raise a lot of money to be competitive. And they have to fight this war on many fronts."

The schedule shake-up is clearly not over. As the number of states planning Feb. 5 primaries grows, New Hampshire is also contemplating moving its primary up, possibly into December of this year.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner was unavailable Thursday. His deputy said California's move does not change New Hampshire's plans.

"At this point I think he's just waiting to see how the landscape is shaping up," said Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan. "He'll do it his way."

California has not played a prominent role in a presidential primary since 1972, when George McGovern beat Hubert Humphrey for the Democratic nomination. Schwarzenegger is hoping that by moving the presidential primary from June to Feb. 5, the state will again play a significant role.

Other states with Feb. 5 primaries are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho (Democrats only), Missouri, and Utah. Also, New Mexico Democrats have set their presidential caucus for Feb. 5, and the West Virginia GOP plans to hold its state convention, which selects presidential candidates, on that date. Fifteen other states are considering that day for their primaries.

The prospect of an early primary has already prompted presidential candidates to see California not simply as a repository for campaign donations. Several have already been to California, holding rallies and public meetings along with fundraisers.

Republican candidates John McCain and Rudy Giuliani have appeared at Schwarzenegger's side during campaign trips to California.

Some state Republicans opposed moving up the primary, saying it would cost counties too much money to hold an extra election. But as he signed the bill, Schwarzenegger pledged to reimburse counties for the cost, which local officials estimate between $60 million and $90 million.

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Jim Kuhnhenn reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.