Ohio Senate approves moving back state's primary in March 2016

COLUMBUS — The Ohio Senate has given its OK to legislation moving the state’s presidential primary back a week.

House Bill 153 passed the chamber on a split vote of 23-10 today, a little more than a month after a comparable result in the Ohio House. The legislation awaits Gov. John Kasich’s signature for enactment.

Presidential primaries, under current law, are on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. HB 153 would shift the primary to the second Tuesday after the first Monday of that month.

Backers say the move would allow Ohio to take advantage of rules adopted by the Republican National Committee requiring states with primaries between March 1 and March 14 to be subject to a proportional allocation of their delegates, while those with primaries on March 15 or later to award delegates on a “winner-takes-all” basis.