Dems to Shake Up Start of 2024 Presidential Primary

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Democratic Party on Saturday approved The reordering and reorganization of the 2024 presidential primaryIn a major shakeup, South Carolina replaced Iowa as the leadoff state in order to empower Black and minority voters that are crucial to its base.

Changes are possible all summer long, but the official endorsement by the Democratic National Committee During its meeting in Philadelphia, the group acknowledged that the 2024 primary will be very different than the 2020 one.

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States with early contests are more likely to determine the nominee, as White House hopefuls who struggle to raise money and gain political momentum often leave before visiting the states beyond the first five.

President Joe Biden championed the new planHe is expected to announce his reelection bid in the next few months. South Carolina will hold its primary February 3. New Hampshire and Nevada will follow three days later. Nevada has also changed the caucus they used to hold in favor a primary.

Georgia would vote fourth on February 13, followed by Michigan and Michigan on February 27, while the majority of the country will vote on Super Tuesday in March.

“The Democratic Party looks like America and so does this proposal,” Jaime Harrison, the party chairman, made these remarks before the plan was approved. It “elevates the backbone of our party,” He stated.

Biden wrote the DNC rules commission in December. “We must ensure that voters of color have a voice in choosing our nominee much earlier in the process and throughout the entire early window.” That committee approved the new lineup, setting the stage for Saturday´s vote.

This is a significant shift from the current calendar which had Iowa starting with its caucus and New Hampshire following. Then, Nevada, South Carolina, and Nevada followed. The new plan includes four battleground states, which means that the party winner could lay the groundwork for important general elections spots.

This is especially true for Michigan, Georgia and Georgia which both voted Republican Donald Trump in 2016, before flipping to Biden for 2020.

South Carolina is the exception. The state has not backed a Democrat since 1976. This leads some to suggest that the party should not be concentrating its early primary resources there. The state’s population is almost 27% Black and African American voters are the most loyal base of Democrats. New Hampshire and Iowa have a combined population of more than 90%.

“It shows that the president of the United States has demonstrated his respect for and appreciation of South Carolina,” South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn was an assistant Democratic Leader in the House and close Biden ally. Associated Press.

Biden will likely run for a second term, and the revamped calendar may be meaningless in 2024. Additionally, the DNC already promised to review the voting calendar before 2028’s presidential election.

However, these year’s changes could be a precedent. They are similar to the new lineup that made Nevada and South Carolina the first states to vote when the DNC approved a primary calendar.

“These things may be symbolic, but they´re realistic,” Clyburn said, noting the party´s typical revisiting of the calendar before each cycle. “This is not unusual.”

After technical issues that caused Iowa’s 2020 presidential caucus to collapse, the order has been rewritten. Biden can also repay South Carolina for his decisive win in the 2020 primary that revived his presidential campaign following losses in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Democrats have been working for months on a reform of their primary lineup. Sixteen states and Puerto Rico made presentations before the rules committee last summer on why each should be allowed to go first — or at least join the new top five.

Saturday’s vote was cast during three days of DNC meetings. However, it does not bring an end to the ongoing debate.

“We have created an opportunity for other states to take a run at the pre-window,” Scott Brennan, an Iowa member of the rules committee, said:

South Carolina, Nevada, and Michigan all met the requirements of party members to be included in the party’s top five. However, in Georgia, Republican Secretary Brad Raffensperger stated that he wouldn’t change the Democratic primary in his state without the GOP moving its primary.

New Hampshire has a statute that mandates it hold the nation’s first presidential primaries. Iowa, however managed to circumvent this law since 1972. They held a caucus. New Hampshire Democrats have partnered with top Republicans from other states to promise that they will continue the country’s first presidential primary next spring, regardless of what the DNC calendar says.

“The DNC is set to punish us despite the fact we don’t have the ability to unilaterally change state law,” JoAnne Dowdell, who is a New Hampshire member of the rules committee, said so.

New Democratic rules include penalties for states that attempt to jump ahead of others, including possibly losing delegates to the party´s national convention.

“Here’s the reality, no one state should have a lock on going first,” Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Representative.

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Biden has so far not faced a significant challenger from within his party that he could run for president next year. Still, top New Hampshire Democrats have warned that another Democrat could run in an unsanctioned primary the state stages and, if Biden skips it in accordance with party rules, could win and embarrass the president — prolonging a primary process that wasn’t supposed to be competitive.

That’s “something no one in this room wants to see,” Dowdell denied it, but warned that it could happen.