Newsman: The Democratic National Committee voted on Friday to radically alter its presidential nominating calendar, following President Joe Biden’s recommendations. President Joe Biden’s proposal would have South Carolina hold Democrats’ first presidential primary and Michigan and Georgia join the early states. But there are still several logistical hurdles for the party to clear to make the new vision a reality breaking with a half-century of historical precedent. Besides, Joe Biden’s proposal to elevate South Carolina as the first primary state and to eliminate Iowa raised concerns within the party itself. .
The DNC is on track to reshape its primary calendar after dissatisfaction with the traditional first state, Iowa, boiled over in 2020. Members of the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, charged with recommending a new calendar, gave a near-unanimous vote of approval on Friday for Biden’s proposal, with only minor tweaks to the dates and two ‘no’ votes from Iowa and New Hampshire members.
The DNC will require the new group of five early states to “certify” or provide updated information about moving their primary date by Jan. 5, 2023. If they fail to do so, the waivers allowing them to go early are “automatically null and void,” according to DNC, meaning that the state will fall out of the early window.
The revised proposal would see South Carolina host the first 2024 presidential primary on Feb. 3, a Saturday, followed three days later by New Hampshire and Nevada. Georgia would then hold an early primary on Feb. 13, and Michigan would hold its contest on Feb. 27. Iowa would be out of the early lineup altogether.
The proposal essentially seals Iowa’s fate, killing off the first-in-the-nation caucus that has held the coveted and influential perch at the front of the nominating process since the 1970s. It could also spell the end for New Hampshire, as Democrats there threaten to still hold their presidential primary first, a move they insist they must do to comply with state law.
