Primary Calendar Updates: Florida And Michigan

Florida-- Lawyers for Florida Democrats filed a new motion today in federal court seeking a quick decision on whether DNC chairman Howard Dean "and other political party bosses" violated the rights of millions of Florida Dems by refusing to recognize the state's Jan. 29 delegate selection process, a process that violated DNC rules. The DNC's filing in the case was due today. If the judge, Robert Hinkle, decides to require the DNC to recognize Florida's delegates, the DNC will almost certainly appeal.

Michigan -- Democrats and Republicans are still planning to hold their primary on Jan. 15. The GOP primary counts, but remember -- the RNC will reduce the total delegate haul by half. The DNC primary is -- well, a mystery at this point. There will be a ballot, a few names will be on it, and the press needs to figure out how they're covering to cover it.

Watch to see what the state Democratic Party does on November 7 -- at its executive committee meeting, the state Democratic Party chairman Mark Brewer will make one final pitch for a post-Feb. 5 caucus. Over the long term, Dems and GOPers in the state are looking to work together to propose some sort of national joint fix to the primary calendar. There may well be a floor fight at the Republican convention in Minneapolis, and the fractious calendar fights of this year may boil over.