Democrats Vote To Make South Carolina First Presidential Primary State, Move Up Georgia, Michigan, And Bump New Hampshire

Democrats have voted to put South Carolina first in the Democratic primary schedule and move Georgia and Michigan up to be included in the early voting states, according to reporting from the Associated Press.

The Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee greenlit the president’s plan, but New Hampshire and Iowa Democrats weren’t onboard. The approval pushes the suggestions to the entire Democratic National Committee, which will decide next year.

President Joe Biden previously told Democrats that he wanted to see South Carolina take the first presidential primary spot, with Georgia and Michigan moving up to become two of the early-voting states.

The Associated Press reported Friday that sources familiar with the matter said the president gave Democrats his suggestion of South Carolina going first. The Washington Post reported the president’s preferred order of the early voting states.

The committee voted in favor of the new schedule where South Carolina would be first, with New Hampshire and Nevada going second, Georgia next, and Michigan as the final of the early states. The move would put Michigan and Georgia into the top five states, and bump New Hampshire down in the order after it has been the first primary in the country since 1920. Iowa was traditionally the first caucus, but it has been pushed out of the early states entirely.

Michigan has been attempting to be one of the early states and secure its spot as a key primary. The contest has been an intense one. Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin recently argued against Michigan getting the slot, claiming Minnesota would be better.

Representative Debbie Dingell (D-MI) has been a key player in getting Michigan’s status moved up. “This president knows that any road to the White House has to go through the heartland of America,” Dingell said prior to the vote. “To me this has been a 30-year quest.”

Like Michigan, Georgia would also be advanced into a top spot in a first-time move. In a video, the Georgia Democratic Party positioned the state as diverse with recent Democrat successes as it competed for an early state selection. Georgia, along with South Carolina, would need Republicans’ help to move the primary schedule since Republicans hold the majority in the state legislatures, as well as the governor positions.

The advancement of Georgia and South Carolina appears to be an attempt to include more diverse states in early voting activities.

Since 2008, the first four states in the Democratic nomination process have been Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina.

New Hampshire officials were not happy with the president’s suggestions. Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH) criticized “the White House’s short-sighted decision” before the vote and said the proposal was “tremendously disappointing.” Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan (NH) said, “I strongly oppose the President’s deeply misguided proposal.”

“But make no mistake,” Hassan noted in a statement. “New Hampshire’s law is clear and our primary will continue to be first in the nation.”

New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley echoed Hassan’s sentiment, saying in a statement that the “news is obviously disappointing, but we will be holding our primary first.”

“We will always hold the first in the nation primary, and this status is independent of the president’s proposal or any political organization,” Hassan later said.

Biden sent a letter to Democratic National Committee (DNC) members on Thursday, saying, “[w]e must ensure that voters of color have a voice in choosing our nominee much earlier in the process and throughout the entire early window.” He also said there should no longer be caucuses included in the nominations.

“Our early states must reflect the overall diversity of our party and our nation — economically, geographically, demographically. This means more diverse states earlier in the process and more diversity in the overall mix of early states,” he wrote.

“Working class families are the backbone of our economy. Union households must be represented in greater numbers than before,” Biden added. “We need to include voters from many backgrounds, not to ratify the choice of the earliest states, but as full stakeholders in making the choice.”

The Republican National Committee already voted to maintain its current calendar for the first states.

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