After the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in January that a Texas court had gone too far in overriding the State legislature’s plan for redestricting, it seemed likely the state’s important primary would be pushed back, further elongating the protracted GOP presidential nomination contest. Today comes the news that, indeed, the primary originally scheduled for Super Tuesday will be pushed back at least until May 22.
Back in the glory days of Mitt Romney’s tenuous front-runner-dom, the delay seemed like bad news for him, as it held the potential to drag the primary contest on and distract from his putative fight with Obama. One observer believes that’s still the case now. However, amid Romney’s last-stand-in-Michigan free-fall, the delay may be a good thing. Texas being the conservative place it is, Romney may be happy not to have to spend heavily now to contest it, hoping instead to wrap things up around Super Tuesday.