JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The filing period for Missouri's 2012 presidential primary elections opens next week.
Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said Thursday the filing period runs from Tuesday through Nov. 22. Presidential hopefuls from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian and Constitution parties may participate.
Missouri's primaries are scheduled for Feb. 7, but that's roughly one month too early under guidelines set by the national Republican and Democratic parties. Attempts to push the election back to March have failed, and the state Republican Party has opted to use caucuses instead of a primary to pick delegates to the GOP's national convention.
Several lawmakers contend the primary has lost much of its meaning, but the state Senate has deadlocked on whether to scrap the election altogether.