For years, Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire have fought criticism from others in the party who argued that the two states are not racially diverse enough to trigger the Democratic nomination process.
But after a disastrous 2020 cycle in which Iowa officials struggled to count votes and neither state proved predictive of President Biden’s eventual victory, Democratic leaders are exploring with new urgency whether they can rob the two states of what a invaluable political right: their traditional at the beginning of the party’s presidential calendar.
Several ideas are expected to be heard on Friday by the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, which governs the nomination process. There are calls for an application procedure for states based on various criteria, including diversity. Another idea, put forward at a January meeting, would merge all four current early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — into a single first day of voting before Super Tuesday.
The debate has taken on a new urgency in response to a steady boom of criticism from activists, elected officials and some members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee. The concerns expressed include fears that Iowa’s caucus system is disenfranchising some voters and that neither Iowa nor New Hampshire is racial enough to act as a stand-in for the Democratic voting base.
In the latest election cycle, logistical challenges, including late-arrival votes and inaccurate data, have also exposed the flaws of the Iowa caucus process and clouded the ability to name a winner.
“For me, it’s not about one state, it’s not about punishment,” said Mo Elleithee, a former spokesman for the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton, who sits on the rules and statutes committee.
“We have an opportunity to demonstrate our values in our process,” said Mr. Ellei tea. “Diversity, inclusion and, given the DNC’s job is to elect Democrats, by putting our people in front of as many battlefield states as possible.”
Members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, several of whom did not respond to requests for comment, have been told to expect to work on the issue throughout the summer with a view to establishing a firm appointment calendar by the fall.
“We’re not close to making a decision,” said Donna Brazile, a former Democratic National Committee chairman who is also a member of the rules and statutes committee. On Friday, she said, “We’ll start the conversation.”
In January, at a virtual meeting of the same agency, Mr. Elleithee and others called for a revision of the nomination calendar and met relatively little resistance – which some members took as a sign that even the Iowa and New Hampshire delegations acknowledged that some change can be unavoidable.
State officials in Iowa and New Hampshire have vehemently opposed previous proposals to lower their primacy on the party’s nomination calendar, publicly and privately siding with allies, but committee members say they have not started doing that yet. Still, they said any change to the system should demonstrate that the party recognizes the importance of smaller states and rural voters.
Scott Brennan, an Iowan who sits on the rules and statutes committee, did not respond to a request for comment, but argued after the January meeting that the status of a small state in Iowa has allowed barrier-breaking politicians to thrive.
“Barack Obama was able to come to Iowa, the little-known senator from Illinois, and eventually become the nominee,” Mr. Brennan said at the time.
Mr Brennan also referred to Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who is now the secretary of transportation. When the Iowa caucuses were finally drafted in 2020, Mr. Buttigieg became the first openly gay candidate to win a presidential primary, or caucus, with a narrow victory over Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
“These types of people have opportunities to really shine,” said Mr. Brennan. “If Iowa isn’t first in the process, I think that goes away.”
Ms. Brazile, who in 2000 became the first black woman to lead a major presidential campaign, said the party benefited when states like Nevada and South Carolina were added to the early nomination schedule to improve representation of black and Latino voters.
“It is very important that our primary calendar reflects those values,” Ms Brazile said at the January Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting. “We have to thank South Carolina and Nevada for giving us quality nominees over the years. That diversity has elevated the party and the values we hold as American citizens.”
Past attempts to change the nomination calendar to minimize the importance of Iowa and New Hampshire have reached political roadblocks. Ambitious elected officials, who often watch the next presidential cycle, have tried not to upset state officials in Iowa and New Hampshire, who have historically guarded their status as the first in the nation with extreme urgency. Presidents have often felt guilty towards voters in those states and crushed criticism before reaching the highest levels of the party.
But Mr. Biden has no such obligation. In 2020, he became the first modern Democrat to win the party’s presidential nomination without winning in Iowa or New Hampshire. On the night of the New Hampshire primaries — where Biden finished fifth — he fled to South Carolina and argued against the interests of Iowa and New Hampshire, highlighting the lack of black voters in those states as one reason the results should be downplayed. become.
“Tonight I just heard from the first two states, not the whole country,” Mr Biden said at the time. “Until now, we haven’t heard from the most committed constituency in the Democratic Party – the African American community.”
He won the South Carolina primary in a landslide.