WAGNER MOVES TO GIVE PENNSYLVANIANS A VOICE

            HARRISBURG, January 20, 2004 -- State Senator Jack Wagner (D-Allegheny), has renewed his call for giving Pennsylvanians a voice in choosing the Democratic presidential nominee.

            "Pennsylvania's primary election will never be relevant as long as we keep our primary in late April in presidential election years," Wagner said. The primary is April 27th this year. Wagner's legislation, Senate Bill 937, which was introduced in October of 2003, would move the Pennsylvania primary to the second week in March, and would make Pennsylvania voters participants in the process instead of merely observers. The bill remains in the Senate State Government Committee.

            "Thirty-four states will have voted by March 9th, a date which is predicted to have yielded a presumptive Democratic presidential nominee," said Wagner. "The fact that Pennsylvania's primary occurs late in April renders Pennsylvania's participation inconsequential. Much smaller states have a direct impact on this process, and so too should Pennsylvania.

            "We are the fifth most populous state, yet we remain mired in the political backwater of presidential politics," Wagner said. "A state as large and diverse as Pennsylvania and one of five that will determine our next President should play a vital role in who runs for that office."

             As it stands now, Iowa, with its 2.9 million residents, and New Hampshire, with only 1.2 million, play bigger roles in this process than Pennsylvania with 12 million residents.

            "Pennsylvania is more representative of our nation as a whol, with more racial and ethnic diversity than many of the smaller states that have vital roles in this process," Wagner said.

            Wagner called on his Senate colleagues to act on Senate Bill 937 so Pennsylvania's primary election can be meaningful in the 2008 presidential race.

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