The Nation : Southern Primary Backed

Legislators from most Southern states have endorsed a regional election plan that could lead to a 15-state presidential primary or caucus on the same day--the second Tuesday in March--in 1988, an aide to Oklahoma Gov. George Nigh says. The proposal was approved last month at a meeting of a task force of the Southern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Lawmakers from 13 of 15 Southern states voted for the plan. Oklahoma and Florida did not have a legislative representative at the meeting, but Scott Ingham, an aide to Nigh, attended and relayed Nigh’s support for the proposal. The plan will be submitted for consideration at a meeting of the conference’s executive committee Dec. 4-7 at Lake Tahoe, Nev. The goal is a full-fledged regional presidential primary designed to give the South a greater impact on the selection of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.