Biden wants the Palmetto State to lead off the 2024 primary race, but implementing his plan has been anything but easy.
Evan Vucci/AP
President Joe Biden just visited South Carolina, touting his economic plan in a state that is singularly responsible for his election. But repaying the life-changing political fortune the Palmetto State bestowed on him is proving to be much more complex than imagined.
Biden aimed to be the first Democrat since George McGovern to cast sweeping changes to how the Democratic Party elects a president. His proposal, released last December came as a bombshell, but the DNC approved it in February.
Gone would be the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. In fact, caucuses, once a popular way for party regulars to state their preference, would be done away with entirely. New Hampshire, the state that prides itself on picking presidents through its first-in-the-nation primary, would be tied for second. In their place, South Carolina would jump from its first-in-the-south primary to leading off the entire calendar. Nevada, which would also ditch its caucuses, would join New Hampshire as the second primary. Georgia, a state that narrowly elected Biden and two Democratic senators, would then follow. And then Michigan would conclude the early slate.
At least, that's how this was supposed to go.
In practice, it's been chaos. That's because while the DNC can propose changes, actually setting new primary dates often requires state legislatures and governors to get on board. In cases like Georgia, this means getting Republicans to agree. (They didn't.) Many Republicans are skeptical since their national party kept largely the same calendar. It means some states may be forced to hold multiple primaries, a costlier endeavor.
Other states such as New Hampshire loathe to lose a status they've held onto for decades. The Granite State loves its primary so much that it has a law that requires its secretary of state to make sure it goes first. Democrats there are angry over Biden's changes, but thus far they have yet to confront the reality of what happens if they hold a presidential primary without the president's name on the ballot. Defiant states also risk losing national convention delegates, a punishment that can definitely sting.
"The reality is that New Hampshire is going to keep the first-in-the-nation primary," Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party told the New York Times Magazine, "and the question only is whether or not the president is going to put his name on the ballot. They're trying to come after New Hampshire, but it's not going to be successful. So why go through all that pain?"
All of these changes are for the 2024 cycle. Theoretically speaking, Democrats could redo this all again for the 2028 election.
