DNC passes new primary calendar making South Carolina first and booting Iowa
On Saturday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), officially approved their new early primary calendar. This drastically changes the order in which states will cast votes for the presidential nomination.
The President Joe Biden supported the plan. South Carolina will be the first state to appear on the presidential primary calendar in 2024. New Hampshire and Nevada will follow three days later. It would also make battleground states Georgia, Michigan and Nevada higher in the calendar.
According to the DNC, Iowa, whose caucus launched the process for Democrats in 1972, is now out the early window.
The calendar’s supporters claim that the changes better represent minority voters who are the main bloc of party voters. Biden wrote to the Rules & Bylaws Committee in December 2022, which oversees the primary calendar order. He stated that it was time to “update the primary process for the 21st Century.”
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“This calendar does what has been long overdue. Jamie Harrison, DNC Chair, stated that the calendar increases the number of voices available. Women and other communities are at the heart of the Democratic party.
Trav Robertson, Chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, told CBS News that South Carolina’s first position “not only transforms how we nominate presidents but it transforms South Carolina.”
However, for New Hampshire, Georgia, and Iowa, the DNC’s full passing does not set their dates or places in the primary set.
New Hampshire has had a law since 1979 that states it is the first primary state in the country and must be in place at least seven days prior to any similar election. It has been the first primary slot since 1920.
New Hampshire Democrats have been arguing with state Republicans and the DNC about their inability to change their primary date.
On Friday, the Democratic Party of New Hampshire held a press conference to reiterate that there is no political will in state Republicans to change their primary date or pursue another primary.
Ray Buckley, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair, said that the party would work with the DNC in good faith on the primary date. However, he and other state party members indicated little desire to change the date.
He dismissed the idea of changing the primary to a convention-style event. He also spoke openly about the DNC’s consequences for skipping ahead. This could include losing 2024 convention delegate or stopping Democratic presidential candidates from running in South Carolina.
Joanne Dowdell (a New Hampshire DNC committeewoman) suggested another consequence: Mr. Biden could not file for re-election. This could allow an “insurgent candidate to rise” in the state and win the first presidential primary in 2024.
Dowdell said she was “frustrated” that “Republicans within the state have already weaponized this calendar and used it to attack Democrats.”
Mo Elleithee, DNC RBC member, from Washington, D.C., claimed that New Hampshire’s position in the new primary calendar was no different to the longstanding Iowa-New Hampshire arrangement.
“There is nothing wrong with New Hampshire. New Hampshire is a great place. It has played an important part. We suggested that you continue to play the same vital role as always. He said that there were other states that should be heard at the beginning of the process.” he stated to CBS News earlier this year.
Georgia Democrats are trying to change their primary date but are being stopped by the Republicans. Republican leaders insist that the primary must be held on the same day for all parties. Georgia could even move the date up, which could lead to a penalty from the Republican National Committee.
“Our legal team has consistently stated that both party primary are going to take place on the same date and we will not charge anyone any delegates,” stated Jordan Fuchs, Georgia Deputy Secretary.
If the state cannot comply, they will likely return to their primary slot on Super Tuesday or the first Tuesday of March 2024.
Iowa was kicked out the window, but they have a legal problem ahead of them. Although Iowa has yet to finalize their primary date, state codes state that they must hold it before any other state.
The Republican National Committee and State Republicans who control the levers in state government have stated they will not alter the date.
Scott Brennan, a member on the Rules & Bylaws Committee of the Iowa Democratic National Committee, voted against this calendar.
Brennan stated that “We can pass the calendar, but we will leave this place with absolutely nothing settled,” during the general session meeting.
Rita Hart, the New Iowa Democratic Party Chair, stated that the absence of Democrats or Mr. Biden in Iowa during the 2024 primary elections will allow Iowa to be “flooded with Republican hopefuls spreading their damaging message across every corner of the state.”
New Hampshire and Iowa have been moved, and Georgia and Michigan were introduced. This has given other states the opportunity to see themselves as possible.
Democrats from Georgia and North Carolina and Nevada wrote to the DNC earlier in the week requesting that a battleground state be the first-in the-nation primary. They argued that with the “potential return” of Donald Trump or Trumpism to Trump’s White House, first-in the-nation resources should go to a state that is competitive in the 2024 general elections.
These calendar changes could be used as an academic exercise, or to test the waters for Democratic early primaries that are not held in Iowa or New Hampshire. According to the DNC, they have the ability to change the calendar before each presidential cycle.
Nevada Democrats campaigned for the first slot in the summer 2022. They’re now aiming to make a comeback in 2028.
“We will do all we can to ensure that we do a great job in 2024. We’re going all out to make Nevada important. We’re going make a case in 2028,” Judith Whitmer, Nevada Democratic Chair, said.
