They also questioned the large role that states such as Iowa play in determining the nominee.
These discussions took place during the annual winter meetings of DNC, which were held in Washington, D.C.
Friday’s report by the Des Moines Register outlined a proposal to significantly alter the process of selecting the Democratic Party nominee. The proposal would require that states apply to hold their nomination contests within the early window. This could be up to five states. The four states that have been granted permission to hold their contests before other states are Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Jim Roosevelt, co-chair of RBC, stated that no such proposal would be made by the committee at the moment.
Roosevelt stated, “Some of you might have read about a proposed resolution.” “No resolution is coming into this committee. This committee is having a conversation about the substance of the resolution. There is no ready-made resolution.
Although he acknowledged that the topic had been brought up at the January party meeting, the only written document to support his assertion was a memo and not a resolution.
Members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee discussed whether changes should be made to the 2024 calendar. They also questioned whether Iowa should take the lead, as it has done in the past. Mo Elleithee, a member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, stated that there should be three factors that guide decisions about early states. These include prioritizing primaries over the caucuses and having more states that “reflects the diversity and rainbow which is the Democratic Party,” as well as communicating Democratic messages to battleground states earlier.
“Three of four of the current early window states meet at least two of these criteria.” Elleithee stated at the January meeting that one does not meet any of these criteria, at least not in recent years.
Elleithee reiterated these points Friday, saying that the following criteria “gives me a framework by which I can think about this process moving forward.”
Elleithee stated Friday that “now is not the time for us as parties to stand by tradition and now is not the time for our party to stick to status quo.” “New Hampshire and South Carolina could make compelling arguments about how they fit into this picture. Iowa is a more difficult case, but I can see it. It is important to me that it be understood how it fits within that framework.
Jamie Harrison, DNC Chair, didn’t voice a preference Wednesday about Iowa being the next state to vote in presidential primary.
“We’re going be deliberative. We’re going make sure we do what’s best for the party going forward.” “I’m looking forward the conversation,” said he to CBS News. The former Senate candidate and party chairman of South Carolina said that he would like his state to stay where it is on the primary calendar.
Harrison stated Friday that there would be three additional virtual “listening sessions” for Democrats to hear their thoughts on the primary calendar.
Scott Brennan, an RBC member representing Iowa, supported Iowa’s participation in the process. He was critical of the lack of transparency regarding the issues in the proposed proposal, including the inclusion of five states instead of four during the early window and the antipathy towards caucuses.
Brennan stated, “We’ve spoken about transparency and openness. Let’s live that value.” “I feel like I was whipsawed today. It’s unfair to Iowans. It is unfair to the early states. It’s okay to want a process. But let’s make sure it’s done in sunlight and not in darkness.
Lorraine Miller, co-chairperson of the RBC, tried to minimize the proposal by calling it a “working paper” and a a “framework”. She added that “what will be actually considered is what each one of you decides.”
Discussions have been ongoing about Iowa’s Democratic caucuses moving since the chaotic 2020 Event. It took many days to tabulate results because party officials had difficulty reporting and calculating results partly due to a new app.
Previously, Democratic circles have scrutinized Iowa and its caucuses. Critics claim that the caucuses don’t include enough people because they are held at one time. Others have expressed concern that Iowa’s lack diversity is not representative of the modern Democratic Party.
The DNC approved rules to encourage parties to move from primaries to caucuses ahead of the 2020 nomination process. These rules required that caucus states provide absentee voting to those who were unable to attend the caucuses.
Iowa Democrats had proposed adding virtual caucuses. However the plan was scrapped by the national party during the summer 2019. To meet a requirement for more access, several satellite caucuses were held earlier in the day on caucus days.
The implementation of state laws could make it difficult to reform the presidential nomination calendar. Iowa’s law requires that states hold caucuses. New Hampshire’s state law, however, says that the presidential primaries will be held on the second Tuesday of March. This is 7 days before any other state holds similar elections. Nevada’s governor has signed a law last year that would make Nevada the state with the first primary.
Artie Blanco, a Nevada member of the RBC, stated that “the four early states have done their work to represent and evaluate future presidential candidates.” “Nevada really checks every stage of this process at the end of it all. Our voters are diverse in terms of race and economic diversity. Both have rural and urban communities that are involved. We really have opened the ballot to all of them.”
Members asked if other states were looking to adopt legislation regarding their inclusion in the primary calendar. Other than New Hampshire and Iowa, no other states were mentioned.
Republicans have, however, shown no interest to having a primary calendar battle. The Republican National Committee’s Presidential Nominating Process Committee released a report in January that recommended no significant changes to the party’s primary calendar. These recommendations are expected to be adopted by the RNC later in the year.
