By Alex Seitz Wald -
NBC News
PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic National Committee on Saturday officially dethroned Iowa and New Hampshire from the status they have enjoyed for decades as frontrunners in presidential primary ballots, following President Joe Biden's recommendation for the 2024 calendar.
South Carolina will now kick off the race for Democrats, with Michigan, and possibly Georgia, joining the top states in
the biggest presidential primary shakeup in years,
while Nevada will come in second.
New Hampshire could go the same day as Nevada if its Republican lawmakers and governor change a state law.
Georgia will also need the cooperation of Republican officials to take advantage of the new position now available to them.
People vote in the presidential primary election in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 29, 2020. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Republicans will retain the traditional roles of Iowa and New Hampshire for their 2024 presidential primaries, but Democrats have sought for years to promote states with more diverse minority populations such as Latinos and blacks.
“This schedule does what is long overdue,” said DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison.
“It puts black voters at the forefront of the process in South Carolina.
Keep Nevada, where Latinos have been building power...
And add Michigan, the heartland, where unions built this nation's middle class.
And Georgia, the vanguard of the new South.
“The Democratic Party looks like America,” Harrison added, “as does this proposal.”
The new schedule puts South Carolina first on February 3, 2024, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on February 6, then Georgia on February 13, and Michigan on February 27.
After that, any state is free to schedule their primaries whenever they want.
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The party finally exerted the political will to shake up the status quo after Iowa botched its 2020 caucuses, delaying results for days.
The state also leaned more towards the Republican column.
However, this schedule is not yet final as it is now up to the states to change their main dates.
South Carolina, Nevada and Michigan have already codified their position, while the others have not.
Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire opposed the new calendar, warning that opening the calendar to change could create chaos by inviting other states to try to intervene and damage the electoral prospects of Democrats in their states.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Iowa's recall will expose the party to charges that it "has turned its back on Iowa and rural America."
The Democratic National Committee Bylaws and Rules Committee discusses proposed changes to the primary system during a meeting at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Washington. Nathan Howard / AP
Not so fast, says New Hampshire
The thorniest issue, however, is New Hampshire, where state law requires the first primary to be held a week earlier than any other state in the country.
New Hampshire Democrats have called for more time to try to reach a solution, but most Democrats say they hope the impasse is not resolved.
Instead, it seems likely that New Hampshire will go ahead with a first unauthorized Democratic primary in the nation, even though that means the party will lose delegates to the Democratic National Convention next year and any candidate who puts their name on the ballot will face severe sanctions by the DNC, such as being banned from debate stages or losing access to the voter file.
“The DNC is willing to punish us even though we don't have the ability to unilaterally change state law,” said Joanne Dowdell, a member of the New Hampshire DNC.
“This will only hurt President Biden in our state, which is a battleground state with mixed Democrats and Republicans.”
Democrats could end up with someone like Marianne Williamson, a spiritual writer who ran an unlikely 2020 presidential campaign, as the most prominent Democrat on the ballot in an unauthorized New Hampshire primary.
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“If President Biden does not run for New Hampshire, it could provide an opportunity for an insurgent candidate to run and win the first primary of 2024, something no one in this room wants to see,” Dowdell added.
But in a party united behind Biden, there was little sympathy for the state's plight.
“No state should be assured of being first,” said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell, a member of the newly promoted state's DNC.
Those who spoke in favor of the new calendar received far more applause than their colleagues from Iowa or New Hampshire.
“Look, for far too long our party's nominating schedule hasn't reflected what this country looks like,” said Georgia Rep. Nikema Williams, who is also the chair of the state Democratic Party.
"After today, we can proudly say that voices that have been silenced for far too long have been raised."