The Hill's Josh Lederman:
Florida made its plans to hold its Republican presidential primary on Jan. 31 official on Friday, setting off a reshuffling of the primary calendar as early states scramble to move up their contests to protect their cherished statuses.
.... Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the four states permitted to hold contests prior to March 6, have all vowed to move their dates up to buck the Florida shift.
"The arrogance shown by Florida’s elected leadership is disappointing, but not surprising," Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn said in a news release immediately after the Florida vote, adding that Iowa will set the date for its first-in-the-nation caucuses after New Hampshire announces the date for its primary. “Iowa will remain first."
Party sanctions for moving up remain far too soft (i.e. Florida will only lose half its delegates to the national convention) for what a state gets, in attention, influence, and prestige for going early.
It's like telling a kid who's threatened to take a day off from school that you'll ground him for the first fifteen minutes of that day.
