So far, the strategy is working, with Mr. Riordan running well ahead of his two opponents in the March 5 primary.
A sales tax increase referendum was defeated in the March 2006 primary but passed in the April 2007 election.
She defeated Cincinnati attorney Steve Black by 28 points in the March 4 primary.
Weber ran for the March 2008 primary and won with 59% of the vote.
Gov. Gray Davis of California, running for a second term, has no serious opposition in the state's March 5 primary.
Mr. Vallas, 48, joined what is likely to be a crowded field in the March 2000 primary.
(Louisiana Democrats are sticking with a March 14 primary.)
This year, for example, Republicans had high turnout in early states, through the March 7 primary.
Their report said that if flaws they identified were fixed, the machines could be used in Maryland's March 2 primary.
Iowa was widely considered his best hope until the Illinois primary March 15.