President Joe Biden’s plan to change the Democratic presidential primary calendar could soon become a reality, but it likely won’t mean much for Washington.
The Democratic National Committee last week approved changes to the 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar, switching which states get the first few primary dates. Under the new plan, South Carolina will hold the first primary on Feb. 3, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on Feb. 6. Georgia would hold theirs next on Feb. 13, followed by Michigan on Feb. 27.
The proposal pushes Iowa, which for decades has been the first stop for Democrats, out of the first few spots, in an effort to better reflect the diversity of the party. Four of the five states are also considered battleground states.
Though the new calendar won’t affect Washington’s date, newly elected state Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad, the first woman of color to chair the state Democratic party, said she was proud of the changes made at a national level.
This isn’t the first time the calendar has been changed and it certainly won’t be the last, said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University. Almost every cycle there are changes as most individual states still have a say in when they can hold their primaries.