As California lawmakers prepare to move that state’s presidential primary from June to Feb. 5, presidential campaigning in the Golden State "has taken an uncharacteristic urgency, with presidential aspirants from both parties jockeying to make an impression on Californians beyond the state’s big donors who have long been a financial mainstay of presidential campaigns," reports the New York Times.
California will be joining a bevy of other states slated to hold primaries or caucuses on Feb. 5, turning that day into a national primary of sorts and complicating the political calculus for candidates.
Just how big a role California ends up playing in picking the winners of the Republican and Democratic primaries will probably be shaped by finances and the results from the first primaries and caucuses, in January. The enormous cost of doing business in the state, the country’s most populous, will lead some candidates to put their money into places like Arizona, New Mexico and other states with a February primary.
Still, political analysts and strategists from both parties say, California has the potential to alter the dynamics of the primary season in ways that could resonate in the general election. The state’s sheer size, its method for apportioning Republican delegates and its large media market could combine to give Californians a voice they have not enjoyed in a generation.
How will the change affect Republican candidates?
Well, each of the state's 53 congressional delegates sends three delegates to the convention. The California Republican Party gives all three delegates to the candidate who wins the most votes in that district. Given the crowded GOP field, that means a candidate could take all three delegates from a district with only 15 or 20 percent of the vote. That means a Republican candidate who focuses on key districts can come away from California with a lot of delegates even if they don't "win" statewide.
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