RNC likely to keep 2012 primary calendar rules intact for 2016

[Averroës Nix]

In my opinion, it's too early to assess how the primary campaign has affected Romney's chances. My guess is that it's done nothing to harm his standing among Republicans, though it's probably hurt him a bit among independents (but not to the extent that some Democrats had been crowing about until recently).

It's also difficult to predict how these rules will operate on a different electoral landscape with a field of candidates that (probably) differs significantly from what we saw in 2012. Leaving the rules as they are does guarantee that political actors will know them better and find it easier to manipulate them. And in my opinion, a little pro-establishment bias is a good thing for the GOP.