GOP Leaders Put Pressure On Nevada [VIDEO]

A number of Republican leaders, led by former congressional candidate , held a press conference on Oct. 19, calling on the state of to move its caucus back 72 hours, in an effort to preserve New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

Horn said the primary allowed ordinary people to learn about the candidates up close and personal, adding that without the New Hampshire primary, the process would turn into a national primary where only those candidates with the most amount of money would be able to compete. She said decision to move its caucus and not allow a seven-day space of breathing room between contests would eventually lead to a national primary system.

“This is not a vanity issue for New Hampshire,” she said. “This is a democracy issue for America. As stewards of the first-in-the nation primary, we have great respect for the role that each of the early primary states play in this process. We’re simply asking Nevada to stand with us to protect that process, by moving their caucus just 72 hours.”

The activists asked everyone in the state to sign the BoycottNevada.org website and tell each candidate they meet to stand by the preservation of the tradition.

According to activists, , , , , and , are supporting the effort; , , and  are not.

A number of Republican activists spoke, including state Senate President Peter Bragdon and Republican gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith, with both of them saying that they trusted Secretary of State leadership and diligence on the issue.

Only one activist, , the chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire, singled out Romney for criticism, claiming that he was gaming the system to secure an early nomination.

“It’s a travesty,” he said, “and I can’t imagine if he is willing to go to this level in the primaries as a candidate, what levels he would go to as president of the United States.”

Via press release, U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, U.S. Rep. , and U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, all supported the effort. 

On a conference call about an hour after the press conference, former New Mexico Gov. , said he not only had not been asked to join the boycott, he didn’t know if it was such a bad thing to have the primary in December. Johnson said his campaign would compete in the primary regardless of the date.

“I hope New Hampshire has the first-in-the-nation primary and I’m confident it’s going to happen,” he said. “I’m fatalistic, if you will, when it comes to all of these rules … it’s not an advantage to me, either way.”