Report: Biden says South Carolina should be first primary state, Michigan first in Midwest

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is recommending to the Democratic National Committee that South Carolina become the first primary state in the presidential nominating process in 2024, and that New Hampshire and Nevada follow a week later — leaving Iowa out of the early lineup, the Washington Post reported on Thursday night.

Georgia and Michigan would follow next, with Michigan becoming the dominant player in the Midwest under the new calendar that Biden has requested be put in place, the Post said.

The DNC late Thursday released a letter from the president that he has sent to members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee, which is scheduled to begin a two-day meeting on Friday morning to review its 2024 primary and caucus calendar. 

In the letter, Biden does not specify the order in which states should participate in the nominating process. But he does emphasize a much larger early role for states with diverse populations, a quality that the committee has also said would influence its selection. 

South Carolina in the leadoff role would represent a huge shakeup from the past, when Iowa has attracted months of publicity and candidate spending for its first-in-the-nation caucuses. 

New Hampshire traditionally has held the first primary a week later. Both states have overwhelmingly white populations.

“We must ensure that voters of color have a choice in choosing our nominee much earlier in the process and throughout the entire early window,” Biden wrote the DNC. 

“As I said in February 2020, you cannot be the Democratic nominee and win a general election unless you have overwhelming support from voters of color — and that includes Black, Brown and Asian American & Pacific Islander voters.”

He added: “For decades, Black voters in particular have been the backbone of the Democratic Party but have been pushed to the back of the early primary process. We rely on these voters in elections but have not recognized their importance in our nominating calendar. It is time to stop taking these voters for granted, and time to give them a louder and earlier voice in the process. ”

In a clear swipe at Iowa, Biden also said in the letter that “our party should no longer allow caucuses to be part of our nominating process” because caucuses, with their long hours and public scrutiny of candidate choices, “are inherently anti-participatory.”

While Democratic leaders have long criticized the caucuses for not being accessible, criticisms grew following the 2020 Iowa caucuses where technical delays caused delays in reporting. While the results in Iowa and New Hampshire often reflect the future winner of the presidential nominating process, Biden did not win a nomination contest in the 2020 cycle until South Carolina.

Biden added, “I got into politics because of civil rights and the possibility to change our imperfect union into something better. For fifty years, the first month of our presidential nominating process has been a treasured part of our democratic process, but it is time to update the process for the 21st century.”

He also said the Rules and Bylaws Committee should review the calendar every four years.

New Hampshire Democrats pushed back strongly Thursday night against the notion their place in the lineup would change, pointing out state law mandates their primary is first in the nation.

“The DNC did not give New Hampshire the first-in-the-nation primary and it is not theirs to take away,” said New Hampshire Democratic Chair Ray Buckley. “This news is obviously disappointing, but we will be holding our primary first. We have survived past attempts over the decades and we will survive this. Our first-in-the-nation primary has been an integral part of our state’s history for over 100 years, and is enshrined in state law.”

In Michigan, state Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said:  “We have always said that any road to the White House goes through the heartland and President Biden understands that.”

The new 2024 plan would have to be approved by the Rules and Bylaws Committee as well as the full DNC. 

The panel decided earlier this year to strip Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina of their traditional leading positions and require them to compete with other states for the coveted spots. ​​

The committee heard presentations in June from 16 states and Puerto Rico about why they should hold early contests, which could set the course for the nominating cycle. The DNC has said it would evaluate states based on their diversity, competitiveness, and feasibility.

Robin Opsahl contributed to this report.