Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill without comment. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo California moves presidential primary to March

LOS ANGELES — In a bid by California Democrats to exert greater influence over the next presidential nominating contest, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed legislation moving the state’s 2020 primary election up three months to March.

Brown signed the bill without comment.


An earlier primary in the nation’s most populous state could re-draw the shape of the 2020 campaign, forcing candidates to compete in a state that has long served as an afterthought in national elections.

California will now hold its presidential primary on March 3, 2020, just after nominating contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Because of the prevalence of early voting in California, the move could see candidates trekking back and forth from the West Coast even before those first nominating contests.

“The Golden State will no longer be relegated to last place in the presidential nominating process,” California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a prepared statement. “California’s primary will officially be in prime time. Candidates will not be able to ignore the largest, most diverse state in the nation as they seek our country’s highest office.”

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Padilla and other supporters of the bill said an earlier primary could focus national attention on significant issues in this heavily Democratic state, including climate change and immigration.

The early primary could also help two prospective presidential candidates from California — Sen. Kamala Harris and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

California has held early presidential primaries before with little effect, including in 2008. The state’s distance from other states and the cost of advertising in its massive media markets make campaigning here difficult no matter when the primary is held.

But the Democratic field in 2020 appears wide open, and an early contest in California could provide an opening for candidates able to raise enough money to compete.

