SCGOP Reclaims ‘First’ Title

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — After days of in-fighting between republican party members, South Carolina GOP officials reclaim its ‘First in the South’ spot, scheduling its primary ten days ahead of Florida’s. State GOP officials announced Monday that the date for the state’s preferential presidential primary will be Saturday, January 21, 2012. That’s ten days a head of Florida’s, which is slated for January 31, 2012. The Palmetto State’s decision to move its date from February 28 to January 21 comes after days of battling Florida for the covered first spot. A nine-member executive GOP commission iin Florida jumped the election calendar and set its primary for January 31, something no other southern state has done. Because South Carolina boasts a 30-year track record for picking the party’s republican nominee, leaders vowed to do whatever it took to become first to hold its primary. While it may be a victory for the South Carolina GOP, voters we spoke with now fear they won’t have enough time to adequately get to know candidates and make an informed decision, now that the election will be held more than a month earlier than planned.