The date of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation 2008 presidential primary election was set Wednesday for Jan. 8, ending months of uncertainty.

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner announced the date just hours after Michigan’s Supreme Court upheld that state’s law calling for a Jan. 15 primary.

Gardner, who had full discretion to choose the primary date, was waiting to make his decision until after Michigan’s primary date was set. With that accomplished, Gardner selected a date that maintains the state’s traditional status as the first to hold a presidential primary every four years. It also complies with state law requiring it be held at least seven days before any similar contest.

Michigan’s fate was decided earlier when the state’s justices by 4-3 overturned a Sept. 16 appeals court decision, saying the statute setting a Jan. 15 primary served a public interest and should be allowed to stand, despite concerns about voter registration information.

The Michigan attorney general’s office had asked the Supreme Court to rule by noon Wednesday so the state would have time to get out early ballots for the primary. Spokesman Matt Frendewey called the decision “a win for the people of Michigan.”

Both parties in Michigan said they were happy with the decision. Jason Moon, a spokesman for the state Democratic Party, said they would participate in the Jan. 15 primary, though Democratic National Committee officials have approved a plan for a Feb. 9 caucus.

And Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said the decision would benefit the state’s interests.

“The goal all along has been to give Michigan voters the voice they deserve in determining who should be the respective parties’ nominee for president of the United States. It’s good for Michigan, it’s good for the process, and it’s good for party,” Anuzis said in a statement.

Front-loaded Schedule

As things stand today, the presidential nominating season will kick off with the Iowa precinct caucuses on Jan. 3, followed by Wyoming’s Republican caucuses on Jan. 5 (Democrats will hold their caucuses on March 8), the New Hampshire primary, the Michigan primary, and both Democratic caucuses in Nevada and a Republican primary in South Carolina on Jan. 19. The Democratic primary in South Carolina is officially set for Jan. 29, although the state party has petitioned to move it up to the 26th.

Both parties plan primaries in Florida on Jan. 29.

The front-loaded schedule defies both national parties, which have sought to maintain some control over the nominating process. Both parties set Feb. 5 as the earliest date that most states could schedule their contests without facing sanctions, including loss of delegates.

The DNC made exceptions for Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, but has said other states breaking the Feb. 5 threshold could lose all their delegates to the party’s national convention in August in Denver. Among major Democratic candidates, all but Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut have withdrawn their names from the Michigan ballot to support the DNC’s threshold.

The Republican National Committee plans to cut half the delegates to the national convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul in September from any state jumping the gun, including New Hampshire, Michigan, Florida, South Carolina and Wyoming.

First posted Nov. 21, 2007 1:45 p.m.