Democrats vote to push back finalization of new primary calendar

The Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee will now finalize the calendar for its lineup of 2024 early presidential primaries in June as Georgia and New Hampshire seek more time to be able to meet President Biden’s proposed new early presidential primary schedule.

The committee voted 25-0 on Wednesday to push back finalizing their early primary calendar to later this year, according to The Associated Press. The move comes after Biden signaled that he wanted South Carolina to be the first-in-the-nation primary state, with Nevada and New Hampshire following up next and holding theirs on the same day. Georgia would move to third, and Michigan would follow in fourth.

Georgia and New Hampshire have both signaled they need more time given that their states will likely need the help of Republicans in order to readjust their primary calendars. The secretaries of state in New Hampshire and Georgia have control over the dates of their state’s primaries, according to NPR, and both are Republicans. 

Any change in legislation that could be needed for either state would also have to go through a GOP-controlled state legislature and Republican governor. 

It’s not immediately clear if either state will be able to realign their primary dates to the proposed ones, which could impact whether another state is added to the early presidential primary calendar. 

Biden’s proposed new early presidential primary lineup changes the current primary calendar, where Iowa holds the first-in-the-nation caucuses followed next by New Hampshire as the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. 

“Our early states must reflect the overall diversity of our party and our nation — economically, geographically, demographically. This means more diverse states earlier in the process and more diversity in the overall mix of early states,” Biden said in a letter to the rules and bylaws committee in December. 

But the move has upset some Democrats, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), given that the lineup has challenged their state’s prominence in helping determine the nation’s presidential nominees.