Florida will hold its presidential preference primary on Jan. 31, following a vote by a special committee created to set the date.
That puts Florida earlier than a March 6 date set by the national political parties, as the earliest that states can go after four early states.
The January 31st date, would likely mean sanctions for the state.
Two Democrats on the panel, Sen. Gary Siplin and Rep. Cynthia Stafford, voted against the Jan. 31 date.
Following the vote, Stafford issued the following statement:
“I have listened closely to the members of this committee but I have also heard the views of people from across the state, most of whom identified themselves as Republicans. I share the sentiment of the majority of these Floridians who recognize that the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee agreed to a process, agreed to rules, and agreed to a presidential primary date calendar.
“I believe that Florida should respect the integrity of the process and comply with the rules that both political parties agreed to. I don’t want the voices of Floridians to be diminished and the state penalized because Florida failed to adhere to the agreement.”
