The state's nominating convention, which is scheduled for Feb. 5, is expected to result in the state announcing a victor earlier in the day than other states -- possibly as early as 11:30 a.m. on the West Coast, The Hill reported Thursday.

"I believe it can have a big impact," said Robert Fish, chief executive of the West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention. "This can give a winning characteristic to one of the campaigns."

Fish said he does not expect votes to be cast any later than 4 p.m. The state's new system begins at the county level, where each county elects 1,421 delegates to vote for GOP candidates. The delegates will participate in a morning vote to narrow the field to three candidates and after an hour break, the top three will be narrowed down to one.