Iowa, New Hampshire Democrats lose guaranteed first presidential nominating contests

Iowa and New Hampshire are no longer guaranteed to be the first presidential nominating contests for the Democratic Party after the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week approved a new framework for determining the primary and caucus schedule.

The DNC’s rules and bylaws committee approved a resolution on Wednesday that establishes an application process that will determine which states hold nominating contests early in the 2024 presidential election cycle.

The early states — which in 2020 were Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — have significant influence in the Democratic primary, attracting increased attention and campaigning and giving voters an early say in the race for the White House.

In accordance with the resolution, the committee will select at most five states that are allowed to hold nominating contests before the first Tuesday in March or after the second Tuesday in June.

The states permitted to hold contests before the first Tuesday in March will be examined based on diversity, competitiveness and feasibility.

For competitiveness, the DNC is specifically looking at how a state can help the party win the general election.

On feasibility, the committee is looking at the state’s ability to hold a contest early in the schedule; the capacity to run a fair, transparent and inclusive race; and the cost and logistical requirements of campaigning in the state.

The new process is set to kick off on May 6, which is the final day states have to submit a letter of intent if they wish to move up in the nominating calendar, according to Jim Roosevelt, a co-chair of the rules and bylaws committee. Official applications will be due on June 3, and states will be required to give a presentation before the committee later in the month.

The rules committee will then have six weeks to determine its recommended lineup for the beginning of the nominating process. The proposed plan will likely be unveiled at a meeting in early July.

All DNC members will then vote on the rules committee’s proposal.

Iowa and New Hampshire have been the first and second states, respectively, to hold contests since the 1970s. That tradition may change amid the new application process.

The move by the DNC’s rules and bylaws committee comes after the disastrous Iowa caucuses in the 2020 presidential election, when the state’s reporting app malfunctioned and left the party unable to call a winner the night of the caucus.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn said the Hawkeye State will “absolutely be applying” to hold an early nominating contest.

He also said the party would work with stakeholders across the state to “to explore substantive changes to the caucuses that would make them more straightforward, transparent and accessible, addressing concerns that some members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee have expressed.”

New Hampshire Democratic Party Executive Director Troy Price said the Granite State will “retain its first-in-the-nation primary.”

“New Hampshire has demonstrated time and again that candidates, no matter who they are, where they come from or how much money they have, will get a fair shot from Granite Staters, and are stronger and better for the fights ahead,” he added.

The Nevada Democratic Party told The Hill in a statement on Thursday that the state “is one of the single most diverse states in the nation.”

“Making Nevada’s primary the first in the nation ensures that more voices will be heard from a broader background. Better representation translates into better campaigns more attuned to the needs of regular Americans, which in turn means better leadership. Making Nevada first isn’t about Nevada — it’s about ensuring the best representation for all Americans,” the party added.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson Jr. told The Hill that the Palmetto State will make a “compelling case” for why it deserves to remain early in the nominating schedule.

“It’s a great step to being transparent and open to how we pick a candidate for president,” he added of the new framework.

The approval of a new framework by the DNC comes after New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner (D), who was known as the guardian of the state’s primary, announced that he will retire. He told reporters in January that he would retire before the end of his term after first taking office in 1976.

Updated at 4:41 p.m.