Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation Wednesday that will set Missouri's presidential primary on March 15 instead of Feb. 2.
The six-week delay will still place Missouri in the earlier portion of a compressed primary schedule and is the soonest the state could hold its vote without incurring penalties from the Republican National Committee.
The new law seeks to avoid a repeat of 2012, when Missouri's February primary conflicted with similar GOP guidelines and thus was transformed into a non-binding election that was ignored by the eventual Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.
