President Joe Biden is hoping to “reshuffle” the order of states in voting during the 2024 presidential primaries. Biden plans to slot South Carolina first overall, push Iowa down the list, and push Georgia into the top four.
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But election officials are digging their heels in, according to reports.
In New Hampshire, officials from both parties are reluctant to accommodate Biden’s wishes. In Georgia, Republicans are not receptive to the changes. “The stage is being set for a knock-down, drag-out fight over which state gets to go when, with the losing state perhaps holding grudges against an incumbent president seeking another term,” Jim Geraghty wrote for the National Review.
Fallout of a Primaries Debacle
Readers might remember that the 2020 Democratic primary did not go smoothly. Iowa, the first state to vote, screwed up pretty bad. The state’s vote-counting software failed, meaning no one knew who the winner was on the night of the caucus. Even the next day, Iowa was only able to report 62% of its votes.
As Jim Geraghty wrote about 36 hours after Iowa’s meltdown, “The Iowa Democratic Party was entrusted with running the first and arguably one of the most consequential contests in the presidential nominating process, and it completely fumbled, prat-falled, and metaphorically set itself on fire in the process. Not only can the state party not provide the full results, not only can they not say when they will be able to provide full results, but they also cannot explain why they cannot provide full results.”
Right, so Iowa is out. On Dec. 2, the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee booted the state from the top spot, ending a 50-year tradition. Now, South Carolina is scheduled to kick off the primaries, with a vote on Feb. 3. Nevada and New Hampshire will vote on Feb. 6, Georgia will vote on Feb. 13, and Michigan on Feb. 27.
Joe Biden Citing Race
But Biden has some suggested edits for the Democratic Party. The incumbent president wants Georgia moved up. He even wrote a letter to the DNC, citing racial equality as a motivating factor.
“We must ensure that voters of color have a voice in choosing our nominee much earlier in the process and throughout the entire early window,” the president wrote. “As I said in February 2020, you cannot be the Democratic nominee and win a general election unless you have overwhelming support from voters of color.”
Biden failed to mention that he tracks well with “voters of color” – but I’m sure his intentions are merely to “center” minority voters, not enhance his own standing.
We’ll see if Biden gets his way regarding the primary schedule. Regardless, it seems unlikely that anyone will challenge Biden for the nomination, should he choose to seek reelection.
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Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison lives in Oregon and listens to Dokken.
