California moves presidential primary back to June

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California’s next presidential primary will be one of the last in the nation thanks to a measure signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

Historically, the California primary has been held in late spring, toward the end of the nominating process and long after the presidential primary fights have been settled.

State lawmakers moved the primary to February before the 2008 presidential contest in hopes that the most populous state in the nation would play a pivotal role in deciding the next major party presidential nominees.

With President Obama running for reelection, statehouse Democrats backed a bill to move the primary back to June in the name of saving money.

Brown spokesman Gil Duran said via Twitter that the measure would save the state ‘millions of dollars’ by eliminating an extra statewide election. Instead, the presidential contest will be consolidated with the June statewide legislative primaries.

The bill passed through the Legislature with near unanimous support from both Democrats and Republicans.

--Anthony York in Sacramento