HUDSON COUNTY AND BEYOND — Once touting the need to be relevant during the national presidential primary elections, New Jersey state legislators surrendered to budget-cutting realities by returning the primary to the original second Tuesday in June.
Four years ago, the state moved the primary to February because in prior years, the presidential primary had already determined each political party’s candidate by the time New Jersey residents got to vote.
In 2008, New Jersey had two primaries, one for president in February, and the traditional primary for all other candidates and committee people in June.
But the additional primary came with an estimated price tag of about $15 million, and with the state facing serious budget difficulties, the legislature decided one primary was enough and has abandoned the February date entirely.