The rulemaking arm of the Democratic National Committee voted Friday to approve a proposal to drastically overhaul the nominating schedule for the 2024 presidential election and make South Carolina the first state to hold a primary, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire on the same day a few days later, and then Georgia and Michigan before Super Tuesday.
President Joe Biden this week asked DNC leaders to adopt this early state lineup, which removes Iowa from first-in-the-nation status. The proposal from the DNC’s Rules and Regulations Committee must be approved at a full DNC meeting early next year, and states still have to set their own start dates.
The DNC’s rules committee proposed the 2024 presidential calendar schedule the South Carolina primary on February 3, the Nevada and New Hampshire contests on February 6, the Georgia primary on February 13 and the Michigan primary on February 27.
The motion passed overwhelmingly, with the only objections coming from members from Iowa and New Hampshire. Iowa has been first in the nominating process since 1972, while New Hampshire has held the first primary in the process since 1920.
Establishing these new dates could prove to be a steep challenge. Start dates are set at the state level and each state has a different process. In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is responsible for choosing a single date to hold both the Democratic and Republican primaries. Nevada Democrats, who control the state legislature, could have a harder time passing legislation to change the date of their contest after their new Republican governor takes office next month. In South Carolina, each party is free to choose its own initial date.
The new Democratic faction would break with the Republican calendar, as the Republican National Committee voted earlier this year to confirm the early draw of the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. That could cause conflict in new states hoping to move up, as their Republican parties could risk sanctions from the national GOP if their state primaries are held too early.
New Hampshire and Iowa also have state laws enshrining their original status.
Under the proposal approved Friday, each of the five states selected has until Jan. 5 to take action to change their primary dates. If they don’t, they will give up the ability to run an approved contest early.
Despite the logistical hurdles, nearly all committee members who spoke Friday praised the proposed changes and the differentiation of the early state plate.
“We keep traditions because they give us a sense of security sometimes,” said Donna Brazile, the former DNC chairwoman who sits on the rules panel. “Sometimes we keep traditions because they give us a foundation from which to grow. But as many of us on this committee know, we also believe that traditions can be passed on and carried forward especially when you open new doors and help expand the electorate so that every American can have full citizenship.”
Comments made by committee members at Friday’s meeting made it clear that Biden’s expression of his preferences played an important role in the process. Many members praised the chairman’s letter to the DNC panel on Thursday, which called for a new calendar to prioritize different states in the original lineup and disallow caucuses, which he described as “inherently anti-participatory.” In addition to the letter, Biden’s proposed lineup was announced to committee members Thursday night by committee leaders, CNN reported.
Elaine Kamarck, who represents Massachusetts on the committee, said, “That’s why I think the president’s proposal, which will be our proposal, I very much hope, is timely. You start with your base, but then you go to where you ask the question: Can our candidates win in these different swing states?”
But the proposal was also met with objections, particularly from the affected states of Iowa and New Hampshire.
Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status came under scrutiny after the 2020 Iowa caucus mess received widespread backlash. Beyond the issues with the 2020 caucuses, there has been pressure on the Democratic side to oust Iowa from its top spot because it is overwhelmingly White and no longer considered a battleground state.
Iowa’s representative on the committee, Scott Brennan, strongly denounced the move and was among the few members who voted against the proposal.
“While I support the guiding principles established by this committee and reinforced by the president, I cannot support the proposal before us,” Brennan said, arguing, “Small, rural states like Iowa should have a voice in process of selecting presidents”.
Brennan said, “Democrats cannot forget entire swathes of voters in the heartland of the Midwest without doing significant damage to the Party for a generation.”
The DNC earlier this year approved a plan to prioritize various battleground states that choose to hold primaries, not caucuses, as it considers which states should hold early contests. Presentations were heard over the summer from 16 states and Puerto Rico about either maintaining early state status or upgrading their calendar qualifier ahead of Super Tuesday.
Committee member Joanne Dowdell, who represents New Hampshire, also voted against the proposal, which would strip New Hampshire of its premier status in the nation. That status, Dowdell noted, is protected by state law.
“I feel like the president of the United States has made a very bold statement about his vision for this country, the importance of diversity. I don’t think there’s a person in this room who could disagree with any of that. However, I will say that New Hampshire has a statute, we have a law, and we will not violate our law,” Dowdell told the committee. “And I think any lawyer in the room or around the table would agree that it’s not in the best interest of this body to even suggest that we do that.”
This story and headline have been updated.
