Less than a year ago, Iowa and New Hampshire appeared poised to lose their privileged places on the Democratic Partys presidential primary calendar.
But Democrats, including in the White House, suddenly have more pressing problems. And as party leaders gathered in recent days for year-end meetings here, interest in what was once a red-hot effort to overhaul the order of the early nominating states had all but vanished.
Interviews with more than two dozen Democratic National Committee members, state party chairs and strategists laid bare widespread desire to avoid a divisive, intraparty dispute in 2022 and skepticism that any change enacted after the midterm elections could be done in time for the next presidential campaign.
I think its going to stay the same, said Colmon Elridge, the chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party. The energy that was around tinkering with the calendar. It hasnt come up a lot, but when it does, its, Were not there anymore.
On the sidelines of the South Carolina meetings, one Democratic strategist said theres no energy for it, while a DNC member who closely follows the calendar process asked, Why not kick the can down the road to 28, when youre presumably going to have an open White House?
Iowa, he said, may still be f---ed. The real question is whether its f---ed in 2024 or 2028.
Iowa and New Hampshire, after fending off challenges to their one-two order in the primary calendar for years, appeared especially vulnerable following the 2020 election. The two heavily white states were derided as insufficiently representative of the Democratic Partys diverse electorate, while Iowas caucuses were marred by delayed results and calculation errors. The eventual nominee, Joe Biden, lost both states badly, further straining their claims to privileged status.
In June, Nevadas Democratic governor, Steve Sisolak, signed legislation to move Nevadas 2024 nominating contest ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire, while Democrats in Washington considered, among other potential overhauls, rotating early primary states, hosting regional primaries or holding multiple early state primaries on the same day.
Any of those outcomes are still possible. The White House will have enormous influence on setting the calendar, and if Biden calls for a change, one almost certainly will be adopted. But the Biden administration has not yet weighed in, and DNC members appear far less motivated than they had once been to make an immediate change.
I just dont know if were at the point to have that discussion, said Yvette Lewis, chair of the Maryland Democratic Party.
Why remove the opportunity to create whatever narrative you want early in the primaries due to the clusterfuck nature of caucusing? I still don't know who even won it in 2020.
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