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Members of the Democratic National Committee overwhelmingly voted on Saturday to make changes in the presidential primary calendar by removing New Hampshire and Iowa from their time-honored spots and boosting primary possibilities in South Carolina, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan.
What Happened: The vote, which took place at a three-day gathering in Philadelphia ratifies a Democratic proposal to push states that better showcase the party’s diversity.
“Folks, the Democratic party looks like America and so does this proposal,” said DNC chair Jaime Harrison.
The new calendar will have South Carolina in the much-sought-after first position on Feb. 3 followed by New Hampshire and Nevada sharing the second spot on Feb. 6, then Georgia on Feb. 13 and Michigan on Feb. 27.
Why It Matters: States with early contests traditionally wield significant influence in determining the nominee as candidates struggling to raise money or garner political influence will often bow out if they’re not successful in these first five states.
And, four of the five newly-proposed states are battlegrounds where a primary winner would undoubtedly gather momentum. This could prove essential for Michigan and Georgia, which Trump won in 2016 but Biden pulled back into the blue-state column in 2020, albeit by narrow margins.
Big Move For South Carolina: This state in particular is set to benefit for having helped Biden win the 2020 primaries. If memory serves, Bernie Sanders was on course to take the state, which Biden desperately needed.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump criticized the effort to push New Hampshire from its first-in-nation spot, which it’s held since 1920.
“From the very beginning, I’ve strongly defended New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary status,” Trump said last week in New Hampshire, reported The Hill. “I’ve been your defender, and I’ve refused to let any Republican … even think about taking that cherished status away.”
Trump said the calendar changes stem from Biden’s poor performance in NH and that now he’s seeking revenge.
“Joe Biden lost it badly, and it was a very tough time,” Trump said. “He had a humiliating fifth-place defeat, and now he’s taking revenge on the voters of your state by cruelly and disgracefully trashing this beloved political tradition.”
Trump added, “I hope you’re going to remember that during the general election.”
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Image and article originally from www.benzinga.com. Read the original article here.