Primary fever

How do you feel about campaign slogans on Christmas cards?

Ohio State Sen. Eric H. Kearney, D-North Avondale, introduced a bill Friday to move Ohio’s 2008 primary election up from March 4 to Jan. 29. State law requires office seekers to file their candidacy petitions 75 days before the primary, which would mean by mid-November, under Kearney’s proposal.

We could look forward to photo-ops of candidates delivering turkeys to the poor at Thanksgiving and carol fests interspersed with stump speeches. Who will look more believable in a Santa suit, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani? The rest of the packs could dress up as elves for the holiday debates.

Getting a jump on the season is an American tradition. That’s why the stores hang tinsel before Halloween. It’s why we’re talking about football season two days after Baseball’s All-Star game.

This presidential cycle has been more previewed than most, with organized debates having started while the incumbent still had half a term to go. But now Kearney doesn’t want to push us into an early “celebration” of the holiday (can a Primary pass for a holiday?), he wants to pull the holiday back to us. It’s like deciding to celebrate Christmas in October because you just can’t wait any longer.

His reasoning is simple: With a primary in March, the presidential nominations may be decided before Ohioans get to vote because 40 other primaries or party caucuses in other states are scheduled for January and February. As a key electoral swing state, Ohio is entitled to some primary clout as well, he said. What he proposes is essentially election line-cutting.

A primary on Jan. 29 will make Ohio (and Florida) first in the country to cast nominating votes – for now. “For now” being the flaw in this plan. There is not much to stop other states from starting even earlier. New Hampshire, for instance, covets its first primary state status so much that they don’t even assign it a date. Its law just says it will be first – taking place seven days before any other state’s.

If Ohio tries much harder to be first in ’08, it will soon find itself in ’07.