Texans may lose clout with April primary
SMU Political Science Professor Cal Jillson talks about a court ruling that moves the Texas primaries from March to April.
By Shelley Kofler
KERA News
DALLAS, TX (KERA) - A federal judge has signed off on an agreement to delay Texas' March primary election until April 3. That will give candidates time to adjust to final redistricting maps. But KERA's Shelley Kofler reports Texas may lose some of its influence in choosing a republican presidential nominee.
If the primary had remained on March 6 Texas Republicans would have been among the 11 states taking part in the big Super Tuesday vote. The contest among presidential contenders may still close in March, and Texans could have been among the voters that decide the GOP nominee.
That could still happen with an April 3 primary, but SMU Political Science Professor Cal Jillson says it's less likely.
Jillson: It does mean we lose about a month of possible influence on the national contest because in early March we were at Super Tuesday with a dozen or so other states. Now there are about two dozen states that will vote before we get to vote in early April so we lost sort of a pole position in the presidential primary process on the republican side.
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