Last year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill that moved the presidential primary election to the fourth Tuesday in February. It was previously scheduled in March. Supporters of the bill wanted Michigan to have more influence in the presidential selection process by being among the early primary states.
While that was the intent, experts say with the way the primary is shaping up, both parties will know their nominees before the Michigan primary.
Matt Grossman is director of Michigan State University’s Institute of Public Policy and Social Research and is a political science professor in the College of Social Science. “The early states help winnow the candidates down to a few because each party has to select a nominee from a majority of its delegates,” Grossman said.
Since the Iowa caucuses, four Republican candidates have ended their campaigns, and only two remain. “We could be influential in the Republican primary if it’s still ongoing,” Grossman said.
Grossman said after crunching the numbers, the influence Michigan was supposed to have might not matter. “The Democratic primary is not much of a contest and the Republican primary is not likely to be much of a contest by the time we get here,” he said.
South Carolina and Nevada are gearing up for Democratic presidential primaries and Republican caucuses in February, in addition to the Virgin Islands.
Michigan’s presidential primary election is scheduled for Feb. 27.
