Utah lawmakers were unsuccessful in their effort to push their state to the front of the presidential selection process. Iowa holds the spotlight every four years as presidential hopefuls pour into the state to audition for the White House, trailed by the national press. No other state votes before the Iowa caucuses. A proposal that would have required Utah to hold the first presidential voting contest in the country, and for voting would take place online, didn’t make the cut last night. Earlier this week, the Utah House overwhelmingly approved HB410 and sent it to the state Senate for further consideration. But records show it never came up for a Senate vote. It got stuck in a logjam of bills that were defeated when the legislature adjourned at midnight, as required by the state constitution.
“I don’t like the idea that Iowa and New Hampshire matter more than everybody else,” the bill’s sponsor, Utah state Rep. Jon Cox, told The Des Moines Register in a telephone interview this morning.
“I think we have a system that does create second class states,” said Cox, a Republican. “I’m not saying that Utah should be permanently first in the nation, but I really think I’d like to see the national parties engage in a conversation about a more equitable approach to the nominating process. And the only way that can occur if somebody actually beats out Iowa and New Hampshire and goes first.”
Full Article: Utah fails to pass bill to jump ahead of Iowa in presidential contest | Des Moines Register Staff Blogs.