From a story on axios.com headlined “Biden barrels ahead with ’24 changes”:
The DNC voted in Philadelphia yesterday to barrel ahead with President Biden’s plan to give Democrats’ first 2024 primary slot to South Carolina, and to boot Iowa from the list of early contests.
Why it matters: Biden’s plan has faced fierce resistance from New Hampshire Democrats. They fear his makeover could single-handedly put the blue-leaning state in play, by upending a calendar tradition that has put Iowa and the Granite State up front for 48 years, Axios’ Josh Kraushaar and Andrew Solender report.
Here’s how the switch-up could change the 2024 race:
It empowers Black voters — in South Carolina and Michigan, another new early primary state — and sidelines one of the most homogeneous states on the map, Iowa, where 90% of 2020 caucus voters were white.
It creates two different maps for the two parties. Iowa and New Hampshire are still key for the Republicans. Case in point: Nikki Haley is headed to both states after she kicks off her campaign.
President Biden proposed the new calendar in December, saying the order of Democratic primaries should be adjusted to allow states with racially diverse populations to have more of a say in early presidential contests, which can set the tone for the rest of a campaign.
Between the lines: Biden is polling poorly in New Hampshire and could have been vulnerable to a primary challenger exposing some of his weaknesses.
“Black Democrats narrowly prefer nominating Biden (47%) over someone else (41%), while 64% of white Democrats want someone other than Biden,” per a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
But keep in mind we may never see this map in action if Biden runs and doesn’t face a credible primary challenger.
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