The White House created a bit of a stink Thursday by proposing that New Hampshire lose its “first in the nation” status in the 2024 primary season to South Carolina, and that Iowa be bumped from the early state contests altogether. This would mean that four of the five states going first are battleground states for Democrats, as well as states that better represent the diversity of the Democratic voting base.
On Friday, the Democratic Nation Committee’s rule-making committee agreed, voting to put South Carolina in the number one slot, then have New Hampshire and Nevada go together a week later, followed by Georgia and Michigan. All five of these proposed primary elections would be held in February 2024. Iowa would be pushed down the calendar.
The proposed change reflects the reality of the 21st-century Democratic Party: Its voters are diverse. Donna Brazile, probably the most prominent DNC member, reminded her colleagues of that, and the fact that it’s about damned time the party as a whole recognized that and started paying some attention to those voters.
“Do you know what it’s like to live on a dirt road? Do you know what it’s like to try to find running water that is clean?” she asked her colleagues. “Do you know what it’s like to wait and see if the storm is going to pass you by and your roof is still intact?” Brazile asked. “That’s what this is about.”
DNC Chair Jamie Harrison spoke emotionally after the vote about how South Carolina has been known throughout history as the site of the first attack in the Civil War to this. “This proposal reflects the best of our party as a whole, and it will continue to make our party and our country stronger,” Harrison said.
Iowa isn’t happy about that, surprise, surprise. It has held the first caucus spot for decades. Scott Brennan, a DNC rules committee member from Iowa, said “small, rural states” like his “must have a voice in the presidential nominating process.” Never mind that South Carolina isn’t exactly known for its booming metropolises. “Democrats cannot forget about entire groups of voters in the heart of the Midwest without doing significant damage to the party in newer generations,” Brennan said. He and Joanne Dowdell of New Hampshire were the only two “no” votes on the change.
Nevada’s delegate, Artie Blanco, argued that her state’s Latino population should be considered as well, and the state should be allowed to vote on its own. “If we want to build a strong relationship with Latinos,” Blanco said, “then Nevada must stand alone on a date and not have to share that date.” But following more discussion, she was persuaded, saying while it is “not ideal” that Nevada has to share a primary date, “we accept what the will of the president is.”
New Hampshire and Iowa might continue to make noise about how their state laws mandate that they have the first primary and first caucus, and decide to ignore a new calendar. The DNC, however, has the power to refuse to seat their delegates at the national convention if the states go rogue.
Why did Democrats do so surprisingly well in the midterms? It turns out they ran really good campaigns, as strategist Josh Wolf tells us on this week's episode of The Downballot. That means they defined their opponents aggressively, spent efficiently, and stayed the course, despite endless second-guessing in the press. Wolf gives us an inside picture of how exactly these factors played out in the Arizona governor's race, one of the most important Democratic wins of the year. He also shines a light on an unsexy but crucial aspect of every campaign: How to manage a multi-million budget for an enterprise designed to spend down to zero by Election Day.
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On Friday, the Democratic Nation Committee’s rule-making committee agreed, voting to put South Carolina in the number one slot, then have New Hampshire and Nevada go together a week later, followed by Georgia and Michigan. All five of these proposed primary elections would be held in February 2024. Iowa would be pushed down the calendar.
The proposed change reflects the reality of the 21st-century Democratic Party: Its voters are diverse. Donna Brazile, probably the most prominent DNC member, reminded her colleagues of that, and the fact that it’s about damned time the party as a whole recognized that and started paying some attention to those voters.
“Do you know what it’s like to live on a dirt road? Do you know what it’s like to try to find running water that is clean?” she asked her colleagues. “Do you know what it’s like to wait and see if the storm is going to pass you by and your roof is still intact?” Brazile asked. “That’s what this is about.”
DNC Chair Jamie Harrison spoke emotionally after the vote about how South Carolina has been known throughout history as the site of the first attack in the Civil War to this. “This proposal reflects the best of our party as a whole, and it will continue to make our party and our country stronger,” Harrison said.
Iowa isn’t happy about that, surprise, surprise. It has held the first caucus spot for decades. Scott Brennan, a DNC rules committee member from Iowa, said “small, rural states” like his “must have a voice in the presidential nominating process.” Never mind that South Carolina isn’t exactly known for its booming metropolises. “Democrats cannot forget about entire groups of voters in the heart of the Midwest without doing significant damage to the party in newer generations,” Brennan said. He and Joanne Dowdell of New Hampshire were the only two “no” votes on the change.
Nevada’s delegate, Artie Blanco, argued that her state’s Latino population should be considered as well, and the state should be allowed to vote on its own. “If we want to build a strong relationship with Latinos,” Blanco said, “then Nevada must stand alone on a date and not have to share that date.” But following more discussion, she was persuaded, saying while it is “not ideal” that Nevada has to share a primary date, “we accept what the will of the president is.”
New Hampshire and Iowa might continue to make noise about how their state laws mandate that they have the first primary and first caucus, and decide to ignore a new calendar. The DNC, however, has the power to refuse to seat their delegates at the national convention if the states go rogue.
Why did Democrats do so surprisingly well in the midterms? It turns out they ran really good campaigns, as strategist Josh Wolf tells us on this week's episode of The Downballot. That means they defined their opponents aggressively, spent efficiently, and stayed the course, despite endless second-guessing in the press. Wolf gives us an inside picture of how exactly these factors played out in the Arizona governor's race, one of the most important Democratic wins of the year. He also shines a light on an unsexy but crucial aspect of every campaign: How to manage a multi-million budget for an enterprise designed to spend down to zero by Election Day.
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