Twenty state Democratic parties are working to become the first to vote at the 2024 presidential Democratic primary elections. This potential change will be more noticeable if President Biden does not run for reelection.
CBS News confirmed that all four states that started the nomination process in 2008 (Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada), are now submitting applications for the early window.
Iowa is trying to maintain its status as the first-in-the nation after 2020’s chaotic caucuses. It was unable to release the results for days due to a problem with its reporting software. Some Democrats believe that Iowa’s recent lack of diversity and competivity should have cost it its place.
The early window is also being sought by 14 other states, Puerto Rico, and Democrats Abroad. In May, they indicated that they would like to be nominated in the first contest. The deadline for applications is Friday at midnight.
Colorado, Connecticut and Delaware are the states that have turned in their applications.
In April, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of Democratic National Committee (RBC), approved criteria for selecting five states to participate in the early window. The three primary criteria used by the committee to select the states are diversity, competition and feasibility. A minimum of one state must be chosen from the East, Midwest and South regions.
Multiple sources informed CBS News that both Minnesota and Michigan are strong candidates, and at least one could be admitted to the early window. It’s not clear what effect that would have on Iowa (a Midwestern state which held the first nomination contest in decades), if one of these states moves into the early window.
To move the primary date, Michigan would need to have approval from its legislature. The current control of Republicans is in Michigan. According to CBS News, a source close to the situation said that Michigan Democrats have been working with a lobbying company to assist them in their presentation and on the GOP issue.
Minnesota’s Democratic-Republican party chairmen would need to come to an agreement in order to move their primary date. It is important for the state to emphasize that they don’t have to rely upon a GOP state legislature to alter their primary date.
Minnesota’s Democratic Party is in talks with its GOP counterparts. According to a source familiar with the bid, Republicans recognize the “significant benefits” that come from being an early primary state.
David Hann, the chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, told CBS News that he spoke with Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin about the Democrats’ efforts to move up into the early window. He said that he hadn’t been asked about moving the date, and that he would like to know the RNC rules.
Hann stated that “We haven’t given any opinion about this.” “I would like to speak to the Republican National Committee to learn exactly what rules might exist regarding our ability to alter the primary date.”
The RNC rules state that elections held before March 1 will “violate the calendar” which can result in defections of delegates. They can apply for a waiver to be exempted from the rules.
The Democrats are considering significant changes to their early primaries calendar. However, the Republican calendar will not change. This means that the Iowa Republicans will be holding the first contest for GOP.
The effects of a change in the order of the states may not be evident until 2024 when the president will run for reelection. If not enough challengers are qualified for the ballot, some states may cancel their primaries. In 2012, President Obama was running for his second term, four states cancelled their primaries.
The RBC will listen to presentations on June 22nd and 23, before making a decision about which states will be allowed into the early window at its August 5 and 6 meetings.
According to an email that CBS News obtained from CBS News and sent to state parties in May, it is possible that not all applicants will be granted access to the early window.
The email stated that the RBC Co-Chairs Jim Roosevelt (RBC) and Minyon Moore (RBC) will choose a subset to present to the RBC at the June 22-24 meeting in Washington DC. “The Co-Chairs shall make their decision after all applications have been submitted by the deadline. A date will be announced before that date. Parties who are not invited to present can contact Party Affairs to schedule a meeting with Co-Chairs in order to discuss the decision.
According to CBS News’ document, applicants were asked to answer questions regarding diversity, competition, and feasibility. According to a CBS News document, diversity was defined as racial and ethnic diversity, as well union representation.
Questions on competitiveness focus on whether holding an early contest would benefit Democrats in a presidential election. They also highlight any state-wide gains since 2012. The feasibility questions asked about how a primary date was set and how it could be changed.
States that hold caucuses, or party-run primaries rather than state-run primary elections, have additional questions. These include why the state uses this method of voting, what changes would be made for 2024, and how many caucuses and voting locations. Many RBC members and speakers at listening sessions were critical during the discussion about the early window.
The cost of advertising on television in a particular state is another factor to consider. This could be especially true for states like Texas, New York, New Jersey, and New York which have large media markets.
