On Saturday, February 4th, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) officially moved South Carolina ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire as the first states in the presidential primary. This was in response to President Biden's recommendation.
The DNC chairman Jaime Harrison argued that this move promotes more diverse states, and “puts Black voters at the front of the process in South Carolina. It keeps Nevada, where Latinos have been building power... And it adds Michigan, the heartland, where unions built the middle class of this nation. And Georgia, the forefront of the new South."
The new calendar places South Carolina first, on February 3rd, 2024 and New Hampshire and Nevada on February 6th. The calendar is not yet fully finalized as the states need to agree to the rules and change their primary dates.
This change is impactful because it alters a tradition that has been long standing. The topic connects to the unit we learned about the presidential election process and the role that primaries and caucuses hold in the presidential campaigns. We learned about how winning New Hampshire and Iowa has a large impact on how candidates run their campaigns, as was evident in the movie that we watched where Bill Clinton was campaigning.
I think this move is beneficial and a positive change put into motion by the democratic party. By giving more importance and power to states that are more representative of minorities, the president election and campaign process is becoming more democratic.
5 comments:
I agree with Arav. I think this move is a beneficial change to give more power to minorities and promote diversity. According to the New York Times, more than half of the voters in the 2020 Democratic primary in South Carolina were African Americans. "This schedule would help other candidates with strong support from voters of color, who make up the backbone of the Democratic Party" (Glueck). This might also affect the economy of South Carolina, as seen that Iowa and New Hampshire have emphasized retail politics.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/us/politics/democrats-south-carolina-primary-2024.html
I am interested to see how long this change lasts. As great as putting diversity and representation for people of color forward is, I am sure conservatives will not take these changes lying down. It may only be a matter of time before another state will be added to the front of the line the moment government changes power. Then again, maybe not. It will be something worth monitoring currently, in the disagreeing opinions of conservatives on the change, and in the future.
I agree with both Grace and Angelo. There is no telling how long this change will last and how long before more changes occur. They could possibly change the primary schedule again. To add on to what everyone has said, the state governments in New Hampshire and Georgia most likely won't comply with the new dates that were set. Furthermore, the chair of the NH Democratic Party said that the DNC rules committee knew when making the decision that republican leaders in several states won't listen to them even though everyone knows that wins are determined by swing votes. It is only a matter of time before the consequences that people are talking about either become realities or not.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/04/politics/democrats-dnc-2024-primary-calendar-president/index.html
The move to promote more voter representation throughout the states is amazing, while also being a strong strategic move for the democrats in hopes of making an appeal to voters before the election even begins. Hopefully, this voting schedule change isn't a one-hit wonder but rather a sign of more progressive change to come. Overall, the result of the first state's election is often a telling sign of the prevailing result and now the DNC will have to play the waiting game to see if they will benefit from the changes being made.
This is a great move by the Democrat Party. I think that it is really important to stress the voting power of minorities, which might increase voter turnout. The Democrat Party is reliant on minorities as a big part of their base. I think catering to these groups is fair, equitable, and ultimately, will help not only the participation in the Democrat Party, but the nation as a whole.
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