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President Biden has asked Democratic National Committee leaders to make South Carolina the nation’s first primary state, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada a week later, and hold subsequent weekly primary elections in Georgia and Michigan, according to the Democrats, who are briefing on the plans became.
Tectonic’s decision to radically redesign his party’s 2024 nomination calendar came as a shock to party officials and heads of state, who have campaigned hard in recent weeks to preserve an early-calendar spot historically worth millions of dollars Candidate spending and spending attracts attention.
Given the backing of the party leader, the proposal is likely to gain support from Democratic officials. Breaking with decades of tradition, Biden’s move is intended to signal his party’s commitment to creating more diversity — demographic, geographic and economic — in the early nomination process. Iowa, a largely white state that historically held the nation’s first Democratic caucus and had embarrassing trouble tabulating the results in 2020, would not have an early role in the Biden plan.
“We need to ensure that voters of color have a voice in voting for our candidate much earlier in the process and throughout the early window,” Biden wrote in a letter to Rules and Bylaws Committee members due for delivery Thursday night. as the members wanted to meet for dinner. “As I said in February 2020, you cannot be the Democratic nominee and win a general election unless you have the overwhelming support of voters of color — and that includes black, brown and Asian American and Pacific Islander people.”
The new calendar would cycle through states crucial to Biden’s victory in the 2020 nomination race and the general election, suggesting he is serious about following through on his public statements about intentions to seek re-election. In Thursday’s letter, Biden told his Democrats that he did not want to tie the party to the same 2028 calendar.
“The Rules and Bylaws Committee should review the calendar every four years to ensure it continues to reflect the values and diversity of our party and our country,” he wrote.
The plan is expected to face opposition from Republicans — including possibly governors, lawmakers or secretaries of state — in New Hampshire, Georgia and Nevada, as Democrats will be unable to unilaterally ratify next year’s state-sanctioned primary dates move. The Republican Party has committed itself to the traditional order for 2024, with four states taking precedence: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) previously said his state will hold its primary campaign ahead of all other primaries in the state, as required by state law. In rules passed this summer, Democrats gave their leader the power to strip delegates of access to debates and access to data on candidates campaigning in unsanctioned states. The chairman also has the power to dismiss state delegations from the nominating convention if they violate party rules.
“It’s a principled decision. Basically, he saw this as an opportunity,” said a Biden aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to more candidly describe the president’s decision to prioritize states with more diverse constituencies. “He did it with the Supreme Court. He did it with his cabinet and administration. He just thought it was very important.”
The plan must be ratified by the Rules and Bylaws Committee, which meets Friday and Saturday at a Washington hotel, and then approved by the full Democratic National Committee in February, Democratic officials said.
Biden has spoken personally to officials from Nevada, New Hampshire and Michigan over the past few weeks about his plans. He spoke to committee co-chairs James Roosevelt Jr. and Minyon Moore on Wednesday about his thoughts, Democratic officials said.
Senior Democrats began meeting publicly in March to discuss overhauling the nomination calendar after senior officials close to Biden made clear their displeasure with the Caucuses in Iowa, a state that avoided Biden’s campaign and struggled to get the results to count in 2020. Democrats said they are concerned about the amount of money and effort Democrats are spending in a state that has become less competitive in general elections and does not reflect party and country diversity. The caucuses, held in the evenings during the week, also ensure more limited attendance than an elementary school.
In recent cycles, Iowa has ranked first for Democrats, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina. Iowa is required to hold the nation’s first nominating caucus under applicable state law. In his letter to the committee, Biden said he doesn’t think caucuses should be allowed in the Democratic nomination effort.
Iowa Democrats have not said they will continue with the Republicans in the nation’s first caucus if their party throws them off the nominating line. They could also hold a nominations meeting, which they currently plan to do by mail after the rest of the country joins the nominations process.
Earlier this year, party officials approved guidelines for the calendar revision that would prioritize states that commit to holding primary elections, demonstrate general election competitiveness and are demographically diverse. They also aim to include at least one state from the New England, South, Midwest, and Western regions of the country. But they also acknowledged that Biden’s view would play a prominent role in their final decision. Sixteen states and Puerto Rico eventually made presentations to Democratic officials about why they should go early in the process.
Michigan Democrats say they can push back the first date because they have complete control of state government. Nevada Democrats are also optimistic they will be able to control their first appointment despite the election of a new Republican governor who will take office next year. The decision was a disappointment to Minnesota Democrats, who had aggressively campaigned to favor Michigan as the Midwest’s replacement for Iowa.
“I got into politics because of civil rights and the opportunity to transform our imperfect union into something better,” Biden wrote to the committee Thursday. “For fifty years, the first month of our presidential nomination process has been a valuable part of our democratic process, but it’s time to update the process for the 21st century.”
