First Five Primary/Caucus States Are Set

New Hampshire has finally set the date for it's primary. They scheduled it for January 10th, about one week after the Iowa caucuses. That means the first five states to vote are now set. Here's what the schedule looks like for those five states:

Iowa...............January 3rd

New Hampshire...............January 10th

South Carolina...............January 21st

Florida...............January 31st

Nevada...............February 4th

That means the process to pick the presidential candidates will begin in about 8 and a half weeks -- in Iowa. The Democrats already know who their candidate will be, but the Republican race is still very much up in the air. I know the pundits are picking Mitt Romney to win the nomination, but so far, he just hasn't shown the strength in the polls to be considered a prohibitive favorite.

In fact, looking at the five first states, I only see two that Romney is assured of winning -- New Hampshire and Nevada (and no poll has shown him getting even a half of the votes in either of those two states).

Things could change in the next eight weeks, but unless it does change the race could still be very much in doubt after voting in the five states above have been completed. And that could last a while. I still think there's a chance that the Republican nominee is picked at their convention.