NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY
For Immediate Release: January 21, 2011 Contact: Eric Jotkoff, (850) 222-3411
Chairman Smith Asks For Bi-partisan Cooperation For Changing Presidential Primary Date In Letter To RPOF Chairman Bitner
Florida Democratic Party Chairman Rod Smith sent the following letter to Republican Party of Florida Chairman David Bitner regarding efforts to change the Presidential Primary date to ensure full representation at both parties respective national conventions. A .pdf of the letter can be downloaded by clicking here:
January 21, 2011
Chairman David Bitner Republican Party of Florida 420 E. Jefferson Street Tallahassee, FL 32301
Dear Chairman Bitner,
Congratulations on your election as Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida.
On behalf of the Florida Democratic Party, I write today asking for your support to change the date of Florida’s 2012 presidential preference primary. This move is critically important to ensure full representation of our state at our respective national conventions since Florida law currently sets the date of the presidential primary as the last Tuesday in January, which is out of compliance with the rules of both parties.
As you may know, for the first time ever the Republican National Committee has adopted the same timing rules as the Democratic National Committee, which came about through bi-partisan cooperation between the two parties.
It is my sincere hope that we, in the same spirit of cooperation, can work together on selecting a date that complies with the rules set by both national parties. While changing the date of the primary would require action by the Republican Legislature and Governor, I am confident that we can make this happen.  
I look forward to working with you on this issue.
Sincerely,
Rod Smith Chairman, Florida Democratic Party