We’ve touched on this previously, that the Democratic National Committee, and some Democratic Superdelegates, are under the belief that Iowa and New Hampshire are not diverse enough to deserve early presidential primary voting dates. The prospect that the 2024 primary schedule might end up looking a bit different than previous years is starting to seem like a real possibility.
Once the DNC decided to open up its early state review process, applications from other states hoping to topple the “first in the nation” status shared by Iowa’s caucuses and New Hampshire’s primaries began pouring in.
States like Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and Georgia were quick to start selling themselves as superior early primary options compared to Iowa or New Hampshire:
The DNC decided to open up its early state review process after Iowa and New Hampshire were criticized for not being as diverse as some Democrats think the first states in the process should be.
“The two small states should not have such a disparate impact on who is going to be president, Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan told CBS News. “They’re great states, I have many friends from them, but they don’t reflect the diversity of this country.”
Sixteen states and Puerto Rico made their pitches to the committee this week. The committee will meet in July to make a decision on the lineup in August, before bringing it to a full DNC vote in September.
Political parties are certainly free to adjust and tweak their nominating process as they see fit. If the Democratic Party wants to push Iowa and New Hampshire further down the calendar in favor of moving up Nevada and South Carolina, they’re within their right to do so.
The controversy comes in the reasoning for the change which is being cloaked in “diversity” but really boils down to woke capitulation:
“We cannot, as Democrats, build the party if we are not looking at diversity in its broadest sense, making sure that we are addressing that rural working class American, and we cannot win as a party if we don’t tap into even further our diverse communities across the country,” said Iowa Democratic party Chair Ross Wilburn after his state’s presentation.
It’s worth noting that in 2020, the Iowa Democratic Caucus was an absolute mess. The mobile app designed to simplify and streamline the process failed spectacularly causing delays and headaches for days. In short, the caucus process is messy and prone to many points of failure leaving a traditional primary process as the more desired option. If Iowa is sticking to the caucus format, it may get leapfrogged to bolster participation and avoid meltdowns like the 2020 fiasco.
Democrats managed to nominate Barack Obama in 2008 from these states that “lack diversity” and he went on to serve two terms in the White House. On the flip side, Joe Biden did terrible in Iowa and New Hampshire, because voters knew how bad he was, and has become a disaster for the country worse than Obama could’ve imagined.
The DNC risks ticking off more rural voters if they do in fact dump Iowa from its early voting slot, but that seems like a move Democrats are increasingly more willing to make.
What the DNC really wants is more control, that’s what it always boils down to.
