Illinois governor says his state’s primary should be first in the nation

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) made the case as to why his state’s primary should replace the Iowa caucuses as the first nominating race in the nation. 

In an interview with Politico, Pritzker said that unlike Iowa and New Hampshire, a state like Illinois better represents the overall demographics of the U.S. 

“We have the most diverse state that you could have for picking a presidential nominee,” Pritzker told Politico. “We have tech industry. We have agriculture. … We have rural, ex-urban, urban communities all over the state. We have, you know, every swath of different belief across the state of Illinois.”

The governor went on to highlight the importance of diversity and how it affects the presidential race. 

“Diversity matters, right?” Pritzker told Politico. “And to have these states with no diversity come first, and somehow that’s going to decide who’s going to drop out?”

If you’re looking for a state whose people represent the diversity of America, look no further than Illinois. It’s time for the most representative state in the country to be the first in the nation. https://t.co/2BeB4MQIcD

— JB Pritzker (@JBPritzker) February 4, 2020

Pritzker’s comments come after a particularly rocky Iowa caucuses, the final results of which were not released until three days later over a technical glitch in a new election app that was not transmitting precinct data correctly. The fallout and chaos created by the delay in results has called into question whether Iowa should remain the first state to hold a presidential nominating contest. 

On Thursday Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez called for a recanvass of votes in Iowa due to worries about inconsistencies in the tally. It is unclear whether the Iowa Democratic Party will recanvass. 

Other lawmakers and former candidates have also expressed their concerns with the Iowa caucuses, citing lack of diversity.

Before he dropped out of the race, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro called for the DNC to revamp its presidential nominating process, saying that having the first two races in Iowa and New Hampshire — two overwhelmingly white states — fails to prioritize voters of color.

“I’m not asking for anyone to change the rules of the game in the middle of it. I want something much more meaningful than that. We need to change the whole game,” he said. “There’s no reason that Iowa and New Hampshire should go first — two states that hardly have any black people in them, any people of color.”

Success in those two states has historically defined how well candidates do in the long run, with some experts predicting that the victors in Iowa and New Hampshire will carry their momentum to other, larger state primaries.

Currently, there are no candidates of color in the top five positions in the race.