(WXMI) — The 2024 presidential election is closer than you think, and with more than a dozen Republicans vying for the presidency, the primaries will play a crucial role in narrowing the field.
After a meeting by the Michigan GOP this past weekend, Michigan voters should expect to see a few changes.
Michigan Democrats pushed through a proposal earlier this year to move our state’s primary to Feb. 27, making Michigan the fifth state primary of the cycle.
But,per rules from the RNC, only Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada can hold primaries before March 1.
If that rule is violated, a state can lose some of the delegates it’s allowed at the national nominating convention, weakening their vote for the final nominee.
After working with the RNC, the Michigan GOP created a plan that would help avoid losing those delegates.
In the proposal, Republicans would participate in the primary on Feb. 27 while also hosting a caucus primary on March 2.
We spoke to Party Chair Kristina Karamo, who says this is about protecting the voice of Republicans in Michigan.
“I think this is a great opportunity for more Michiganders to understand the political process,” says Karamo.
“One of the things I encourage people to do is find out who your Republican precinct delegates are, get to know them, have your concerns addressed, you know, talk to them about who you want to be the presidential nominee. We need to get more people engaged in the political process.”
Michigan gets 55 delegates. Sixteen of those delegates will go to the winner of the primary.
The other 39 will be divided based on the results of the caucuses.
Moving forward, the RNC still has to give final approval of this plan.
The 2024 RNC will take place July 15-18 in Milwaukee, WI.
