California lawmakers approve presidential primary in March

FILE - In this Thursday, May 4, 2017, file photo, Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, talks with Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers have voted to move the state's presidential primary three months earlier to give the nation's most populous state more influence in choosing the nominees. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) FILE - In this Thursday, May 4, 2017, file photo, Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Bell Gardens, talks with Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California lawmakers have voted to move the state's presidential primary three months earlier to give the nation's most populous state more influence in choosing the nominees. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

By Associated Press September 16, 2017 3 min read

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – California lawmakers voted early Saturday to set the state’s presidential primary in March, a move that would force candidates to mount expensive campaigns earlier in the state that awards the most delegates.

The bill will go to Gov. Jerry Brown for consideration. He has not said if he will sign it.

The bill would move the presidential primary to the Tuesday after the first Monday in March – three months earlier than the June contest held in 2016, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump were already the presumptive nominees.

A March primary would likely fall on so-called “Super Tuesday,” when roughly a dozen states typically vote following the early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and several other states.

“Candidates will have to spend more time in California,” said Democratic Assemblyman Kevin Mullin of San Francisco.