GOP Tries to End Winner Take All State Primary

California Republican Party leaders voted Saturday to change their presidential primary from a “winner take all” system to one that would allow multiple candidates to split the state’s many delegates.

The party’s executive committee voted 52-12 to change the system for the March 7 primary.

A bill implementing the change would have to pass the state Legislature and be signed by Gov. Gray Davis by July 1, the national GOP’s deadline. The prospect of the bill hurtling through both houses and then getting the governor’s signature, all in 12 days, appears very unlikely.

Backers of the change said it would make candidates focus their campaigns earlier and thus help produce stronger party support for the eventual presidential nominee.

It was also seen as a signal to the perceived front-runner, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, that some state conservatives want their votes to go to other candidates, such as Elizabeth Dole, Steve Forbes and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

Under the proposed change, candidates would fight for the 156 state Republican delegates district by district. A victory in one district would be worth three delegates, with up to two dozen at-large delegates probably going to candidates based on their statewide vote.

Now, the Republican candidate who draws the largest number of votes statewide gets all the delegates.