State primary elections would be held in late June rather than early September under a bill passed Thursday by the Republican-led New Hampshire House.
GOP backers of the bill, like Rochester Representative Fenton Groen, say the state's current political calendar hurts candidates vying in multi-candidate primaries.
"This simply does not allow enough time for the prevailing candidate, especially in statewide and federal race to switch gears from a contested primary race," he said.
Secretary of State Bill Gardner, New Hampshire's top election official, has resisted efforts to move the state primary day, which is one of the latest in the country.
Governor Chris Sununu says he doesn't think it's necessary to change New Hampshire's political calendar.
