September 30, 1999
Web posted at: 4:13 p.m. EDT (2013 GMT)

CONCORD, New Hampshire (The Telegraph of Nashua) Ð Secretary of State Bill Gardner said New Hampshire's Feb. 1 primary date is firm despite concerns from national party leaders and cries of protest from officials in Iowa.

"It's now been set, we're not bouncing around. I've waited a long time to set it, and I've never set the date and changed it, " Gardner said Tuesday. "As long as it continues to comply with our law, that's our date. "

Meanwhile, Delaware's top Democrat told a local newspaper that he will ask the state General Assembly to allow the party to withdraw from a planned primary on Feb. 5, four days after New Hampshire's primary.

Democratic Chairman Richard Bayard told The Wilmington News Journal that he doesn't want taxpayers to finance a one-party primary since Republicans will pay for their own event, which is planned for Feb. 8 or Feb. 15.

Delaware Republicans withdrew from the state's primary process just before the Aug. 2 deadline, and have been planning a hybrid caucus-primary vote for the presidential nomination, The News Journal reported. The GOP move left Democrats alone in a primary expected to cost taxpayers more than $400,000, the paper said.

Making matters worse for Delaware Democrats is the fact that Vice President Al Gore and former Senator Bill Bradley vowed not to campaign in the state in deference to New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary status.

The request of Democrats to back away from the primary could come as soon as a special session of Delaware lawmakers on Tuesday or when they return to regular session next January, Bayard said in published reports.

He did not return telephone calls from The Telegraph.

Gardner stunned state and national party leaders with his decision to move the primary date up a week from Feb. 8 so the state would have "seven days or more " between a primary that Delaware Republicans are planning on either Feb. 8 or Feb. 15.

National news networks and presidential campaigns had already reserved hotel rooms and office space in the state believing New Hampshire's vote would be on Feb. 8.

Feb. 1 will be the earliest date for New Hampshire's primary in modern history and it miffed officials in Iowa where the Republican Party voted 10 days ago to move their caucus to the day before, next Jan. 31.

The Iowa GOP had already rented a convention hall in Des Moines and searched out sites for the 2,100 caucuses, officials said.

"We have worked well with Iowa, but if any one Republican leader had called me two weeks ago, I would have told them our tentative date is Feb. 8, but it's not final and I wouldn't be signing contracts with anybody just yet, " Gardner said.

Delaware Democrats had not cooperated with New Hampshire and were insisting on their state law, which requires they hold a primary four days after New Hampshire.

But Bayard said he would now prefer the Democrats select nominating delegates to the national convention through a district caucus and state convention at a much later date, a process they used before changing to a primary.

Gardner defended his decision to make the date change public at a news conference without alerting anyone, including Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen or the leaders of both political parties in the state.

"I felt I had to make the decision on my own, " said Gardner, a Democrat who's won re-election to his post every two years since 1976.

Iowa Republican officials have said they are hoping to convince Delaware Republicans to move their primary back to Feb. 15 so New Hampshire could return to a Feb. 8 date.

Gardner said even if that were to happen, it wouldn't make a difference.

"We're staying put, " Gardner said. "Nobody took any pleasure asking candidates not to go to another state. All we are asking is to preserve our tradition going back to 1920 and a Feb. 1 primary assures us of having that. "

Thursday, September 30, 1999

• Bradley outraises Gore in third quarter; Bush marches on
• Underage piercing out in Florida, as new state laws kick in
• House passes bill to make harming fetus a crime
• Gore and vice presidentitis
• Gore says he's the 'underdog'; announces lower fund-raising totals
• Judges interview possible Starr successors
• NHPrimary.com: New Hampshire sticks with February 1; Delaware blinks
• NHPrimary.com: McCain picks New Hampshire city to announce candidacy
• NHPrimary.com: GOP contenders ponder fate of Quayle supporters
• Reno chides reporters over conflict stories
• Clinton promises veto of GOP plan delaying help for working poor
• Beatty's 'majorette' speech leaves them guessing on presidential bid
• Though not in the race, Ventura has idea how to win presidency
• New Mexico governor supports legalization of drugs
• Clinton was prepared to testify in Cisneros trial
• Demonstrators protest outside Clinton's New York future home

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