GOP: NH Primary to Remain ‘First in the Nation’

At its national meeting in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 24, the Republican National Committee voted to preserve New Hampshire's "First in the Nation" Primary status and shorten the party's presidential selection process, according to the Associated Press.

The Iowa Caucus will be first on the calendar for the 2016 presidential primary cycle followed by primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina, and a second caucus in Nevada, all in the month of February. Between March and May, the other states will hold their contests, with a national convention to decide the nominee to be held in June or early July.

The change in the schedule is being done to limit the opportunities for candidates to attack each other for months in an endless “circus of debates,” according to Reince Preibus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Concord developer Steve Duprey, a committee member, said the decision protected New Hampshire's historic First in the Nation status and would keep other states from trying to jump ahead, as some have tried to do in the past.

Read the full reports from the AP here and WMUR-TV here.

Follow all the 2016 presidential primary news and updates from politicos on Twitter by tracking the hashtag #FITN and #FITN2016.