In an attempt to increase California’s influence over the country’s presidential primaries, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Wednesday afternoon legislation that moves the state’s presidential primary date forward by several months.

This means that California’s next primary will be held on March 3, 2020, placing it fourth in the caucus and primary line after Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Though California won’t be the only state voting on that date, because of its size, it will certainly be the most influential.

“We have a greater responsibility and a greater role to promote a different sort of agenda at the national level,” said state senator Ricardo Lara, one of the law’s authors, to the Los Angeles Times. “We need to have a greater influence at the national level.”

California’s last presidential primary was held on June 7, 2016, by which point then-candidate Donald Trump had already clinched enough delegates to secure the GOP nomination. The law, which had bipartisan support in the state legislature, is intended to make California less of an afterthought during the presidential primary process. Lawmakers hope moving the primary date forward will force candidates to actively campaign in California—instead of treating the state as a fundraising piggybank.

There’s also wide speculation that the bill could help some potential California candidates in the Democratic party’s 2020 primary, notably Senator Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Moving the state’s primary forward means the state will lose 70 delegates at the next Democratic National Convention. In the past, the DNC has offered California a 70-delegate incentive to keep the notoriously difficult-to-campaign-in state from holding its primary until late in the nomination process. Even so, California will remain the heaviest state in the primary process.

“The Golden State will no longer be relegated to last place in the presidential nominating process,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement. “California’s primary will officially be in prime time. Candidates will not be able to ignore the largest, most diverse state in the nation as they seek our country’s highest office.” </s> The measure puts the state’s primary on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March, often known as “Super Tuesday,” when as many as a dozen states hold nominating contests. It will still fall after the earliest caucuses and primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire.

In 2016, California held its primary in June when Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump were already the major party nominees. California typically awards the most delegates.

The state moved its presidential primary to February in 2008, but the shift did not exert influence on the Democratic side. Clinton won the state’s primary, but Barack Obama went on to capture the party’s nomination.

The change also pushes California’s primary for state offices to March.

The Democratic and Republican national committees have not set rules for the 2020 contest yet. The parties set a calendar as well as how many delegates each state is awarded.

California received extra delegates for holding a late primary in 2016 and likewise could be punished in 2020 for moving up the election. </s> LOS ANGELES — In a bid by California Democrats to exert greater influence over the next presidential nominating contest, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation moving the state’s 2020 primary election up three months to March.

An earlier primary in the nation’s most populous state could re-draw the shape of the 2020 campaign, forcing candidates to compete in a state that has long served as an afterthought in national elections.

California will now hold its presidential primary on March 3, 2020, just after nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Because of the prevalence of early voting in California, the move could see candidates trekking back and forth from the West Coast even before those first nominating contests.

“The Golden State will no longer be relegated to last place in the presidential nominating process,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a prepared statement. “California’s primary will officially be in prime time. Candidates will not be able to ignore the largest, most diverse state in the nation as they seek our country’s highest office.”

Padilla and other supporters of the bill said an earlier primary could focus national attention on significant issues in this heavily Democratic state, including climate change and immigration.

The early primary could also help two prospective presidential candidates from California — Sen. Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

California has held early presidential primaries before with little effect, including in 2008. The state’s distance from other states and the cost of advertising in its massive media markets make campaigning here difficult no matter when the primary is held.

But the Democratic field in 2020 appears wide open, and an early contest in California could provide an opening for candidates able to raise enough money to compete. </s> California politicians have voted to move the 2020 presidential primary to March to give the US’s most populous state more influence in choosing nominees.

The bill approved early on Saturday will now go to Governor Jerry Brown for consideration. He has not said if he will sign it.

California’s 2016 primary fell in June after Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were already the presumptive nominees.

The new bill would move the contests to the Tuesday after the first Monday in March.

In the 2016 contest, that would have fallen on “Super Tuesday”, the first major day of nominating contests following early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

California awards more delegates in the Democratic and Republican primaries than any other state. </s> The Latest on a bill moving California's presidential primary to March (all times local):

California lawmakers have voted to move the 2020 presidential primary to March to give the nation's most populous state more influence in choosing nominees.

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

California's 2016 primary fell in June after Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were already the presumptive nominees.

The new bill would move the contests to the Tuesday after the first Monday in March.

In the 2016 contest, that would have fallen on "Super Tuesday," the first major day of nominating contests following early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

California awards more delegates in the Democratic and Republican primaries than any other state.

The California Assembly has voted to move the 2020 presidential primary to March to give the nation's most populous state more influence in choosing nominees.

The bill approved Friday will now go to the state Senate where it's expected to pass.

California's 2016 primary fell in June after Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were already the presumptive nominees.

The new bill would move the contests to the Tuesday after the first Monday in March.

In the 2016 contest, that would have fallen on "Super Tuesday," the first major day of nominating contests following early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

California awards more delegates in the Democratic and Republican primaries than any other state. </s> SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Assembly has voted to move the 2020 presidential primary to March to give the nation’s most populous state more influence in choosing nominees.

The bill approved Friday will now go to the state Senate where it’s expected to pass.

California’s 2016 primary fell in June after Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were already the presumptive nominees.

The new bill would move the contests to the Tuesday after the first Monday in March.

In the 2016 contest, that would have fallen on “Super Tuesday,” the first major day of nominating contests following early primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

California awards more delegates in the Democratic and Republican primaries than any other state. </s> SACRAMENTO (AP) — Super Tuesday, the jam-packed day of presidential primary voting every four years, may get supercharged in 2020 with California joining the pack, bringing along its prize of the most delegates.

Gov. Jerry Brown gave his stamp of approval Wednesday to a measure jumping California’s primary up to the beginning of March, three months earlier than its contest in 2016, when Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had already captured the major parties’ nominations.

“The Golden State will no longer be relegated to last place in the presidential nominating process,” Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla said. “Candidates will not be able to ignore the largest, most diverse state in the nation as they seek our country’s highest office.

Bumping the primary up is designed to give the nation’s most populous state more sway in choosing the Republican and Democratic nominees.

And it could seriously shake up the nominating contest.

California, home to 11 media markets, is an expensive state to campaign in, potentially giving well-funded candidates an edge.

Democratic leaders said the bill gives California the spotlight it deserves given its record of pushing the national conversation around immigration and other issues.

“With all due respect to our brothers and sisters in Iowa and New Hampshire, California is the beating heart of the national resistance to Trump,” Eric Bauman, chairman of the California Democratic Party, said in a statement. “When it comes to deciding the Democratic nominee, our voices need to be heard early in the process.”

Iowa and New Hampshire will still have their early say.

The measure puts the state’s primary on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March, often known as “Super Tuesday,” when as many as a dozen states hold nominating contests. It will still fall after the earliest caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

In 2016, California held its primary in June when Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump were already the major party nominees. California typically awards the most delegates.

The state moved its presidential primary to February in 2008, but the shift did not exert influence on the Democratic side. Clinton won the state’s primary, but Barack Obama went on to capture the party’s nomination.

The change also pushes California’s primary for state offices to March.

The Democratic and Republican national committees have not set rules for the 2020 contest yet. The parties set a calendar as well as how many delegates each state is awarded.

California received extra delegates for holding a late primary in 2016 and likewise could be punished in 2020 for moving up the election. </s> Story highlights California's presidential primary could be on Super Tuesday in 2020

California's argument: The state has taken a leading role in the Democratic resistance

(CNN) California is poised to make a big move up in the primary calendar -- dramatically changing the dynamics of a 2020 race now in its earliest stages.

State lawmakers are expected to vote Friday on a bill that would move California's primary to the beginning of March -- right after Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina on the calendar.

That would likely put California's contest on Super Tuesday -- turning the date into a massive delegate haul that could effectively seal the Democratic presidential nomination.

Their argument: The state has taken a leading role in the Democratic resistance to President Donald Trump -- and it ought to have a similarly hefty role in selecting the nominee to face him in 2020.

"California is the most populous state in the nation, the most diverse state in the nation and has the largest economy of any state in the nation. And we ought to have a significant say in who the nominees for president are," said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a leading advocate of the change.

Read More </s> “If we want to assert our values and the issues that we think are important, I think it behooves California to assert its authority and its values much earlier on in the process,” said Democratic state Sen. Ricardo Lara (left), the bill’s author. | Rich Pedronecelli/AP California lawmakers greenlight early primary in 2020

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers, bidding to exert greater influence on the next presidential nominating contest, sent Gov. Jerry Brown a bill early Saturday that would move the state’s 2020 primary election up three months to March.

If signed into law by Brown, the early primary could dramatically alter the shape of the next presidential race, forcing primary candidates to compete in a state that has long languished as an afterthought in national elections.

Story Continued Below

California would allocate its delegates just after early nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

“If we want to assert our values and the issues that we think are important, I think it behooves California to assert its authority and its values much earlier on in the process,” Democratic state Sen. Ricardo Lara, the bill’s author, said after the legislation passed. “The candidates are going to be forced to campaign in California.”

The effect of California moving its primary from June remains uncertain. The nation’s most populous state is also one of the most expensive to campaign in, and California has been marginalized in previous elections even when it held earlier primaries, including in 2008.

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But the Democratic field in 2020 appears wide open, and a March contest in California could provide an opportunity for candidates able to raise enough early money to campaign in the state’s expensive media markets.

The early primary could also help two prospective presidential candidates from California — U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The measure, backed by California’s majority Democrats and endorsed by Secretary of State Alex Padilla, passed the state Senate on the final night of the year’s legislative session. Its approval came over the objection of lawmakers who warned an early primary would needlessly extend the length of down-ballot campaigns, forcing legislative and local candidates to begin running for office earlier in the election cycle.
California wants to schedule its primaries earlier than usual, possibly on March or Super Tuesday, to have much more influence in comparison to its weight and diversity and to help Californian candidates, such as Eric Garcetti and Kamala Harris.