NC Senate Takes First Steps To Move Presidential Primary Date To March

After agreeing in principle, North Carolina's Senate Republicans took the first formal steps to move the presidential primary date again. The Republican's National Committee threatened a loss of convention power if the date was not changed.

A Senate committee approved a bill Monday that would set the primary date for both parties for March 15. General Assembly leaders announced the deal this weekend, after the RNC did not back down on threats to cut the state's voting delegation by 80 percent if it held its primary in February.

The legislature voted in 2013 to move the primary to February, hoping to gain political clout in a state that has traditionally had very little say in picking presidential candidates. Both national parties have rules limiting primaries before March 1 to four traditionally early states.