Questions about the first two states placement in the primary calendar have lingered for a number of reasons, but after the debacle that was the 2020 Democratic Iowa caucuses, more states are looking to move up earlier in the process. Should Pennsylvania follow suit? 

While Illinois’s Gov. J.B. Pritzker told Politico that he believes his state should go first in the next presidential election, the Pennsylvania state Senate unanimously approved a bill to move up PA’s primary elections in presidential election years by five weeks, starting in 2024. 

State Sen. John Gordner (R-Columbia), who is Senate Bill’s 779 sponsor, said that he believes this would provide Pennsylvania voters to play a bigger role in selecting their party’s nominee. 

“For many years, the selection of the Presidential nominee has already been determined by the time Pennsylvania voters have gotten the opportunity to cast their ballot,” said Gordner, according to the PA Senate GOP’s website.  “My bill will allow our citizens to play a much larger role in determining the outcome of these critical elections.”

Pennsylvania’s primary date is currently the fourth Tuesday in April, while Gordner’s bill would move up the primary election to the third Tuesday in March in all presidential election years. The state House still has to approve the legislation.

While the case can be made that Pennsylvania could be a good fit to be first in the nation, should the state’s primary date be moved up in the next presidential election, stay the same, or move back later in the calendar? 

So we ask the PoliticsPA readers, Should Pennsylvania move up its primary date? 

This poll will expire on Feb. 17 at 4:30 PM.