Florida Adopts Winner-Take-All Primary
A new law passed in this 2015 legislative session moves Florida’s presidential preference primary to the third Tuesday in March. This means the primary will take place March 15 rather than March 1 as would have been the case under prior law. The new date is the earliest the state may hold its primary while providing for the prevailing candidate to receive all of the state’s delegates. An earlier primary would have resulted in the delegates being divided proportionally among the candidates. Floridians Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio continue to evaluate presidential bids, and assuming one of them enters the race and prevails in his home state, the winner-take-all format will provide a significant benefit.