Democrats pick South Carolina to go 1st in 2024 presidential primary
South Carolina will replace Iowa as the first state in the Democrats’ presidential picking order after the Democratic National Committee voted Saturday to overhaul its 2024 contest calendar.
Under the changes, South Carolina Democrats will vote Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire three days later. Georgia will vote a week later, followed by Michigan on Feb. 27.
Despite Saturday’s vote, two of the states have issues to overcome within their own state governments over the primary dates.
The DNC gave New Hampshire and Georgia until June to come into compliance on when primaries will be held. New Hampshire state law requires it to hold the first presidential primary, and Georgia Democrats need Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to agree to the date change.
In South Carolina state parties have the freedom to decide when their presidential primaries take place.
The DNC will revisit the order every four years.
Republicans plan to keep their early presidential primary states the same with Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada holding the early contests. Iowa would kick off the GOP process.
South Carolina will go first after Democrats’ announced after the 2020 contest that the party planned to move away from Iowa, which had led the party’s primary calendar since 1972, following the state’s struggles to report its caucus results.
Democrats say putting South Carolina first also adds more diversity to the nominating contest, since Black voters make up two-thirds of the S.C. Democratic Party.
And President Joe Biden, who lost 2020 contests in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, won South Carolina — propelling him to the nomination — backed plans to put the state first.
Biden has yet to say if he will run for reelection in 2024. If he does, no primary challenger is expected and the primary order is moot.
Trav Robertson, chairman of the S.C. Democratic Party, called the move transformational for the Palmetto State.
“The economic and political impact that being first in the country has for our state and our people cannot be understated or oversold,” Robertson said. “The president of the United States of America has placed a great deal of belief and faith in our people and we’re going to take that responsibility very seriously.”
Robertson gave credit to the state’s Democratic National Committee members, including Carol Fowler, Clay Middleton, Bre Maxwell, Kay Koonce and Lessie Price, the state party’s first vice chair. He also acknowledged U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn and DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison, of South Carolina.
Harrison said the primary calendar reflects the values of the party as it elevates Black voters by having South Carolina hold its primary first and Hispanic voters by having Nevada go second along with New Hampshire.
“This calendar does what is long overdue,” Harrison said. “It expands the number of voices in the early window, and it elevates diverse communities that are at the core of the Democratic Party.”
He added it allows smaller campaigns to compete and gain traction in smaller, less expensive states before moving onto bigger states.
The vote by the DNC took place after about an hour of remarks from those in attendance, which included opposition from those in the Iowa and New Hampshire delegations.
Iowa and New Hampshire delegates complained that Republicans in their states are already using the calendar change against Democrats. Both states also have laws that mandate they lead off the nominating process, an issue which would keep them from complying with the new DNC requirements.
“No one seems to listen when we say that this will only hurt President Biden in our purple battleground state,” said Joanne Dowdell, who represented New Hampshire on DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee.
Members from Iowa said Democrats in that state have proposed changes to their caucus process, including going to a vote-by-mail system.
“It’s vital that small rural states like Iowa do not lose our voice in the presidential nominating process,” said Rita Hart, the chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party.
But Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell argued the early states have received the most candidate visits and media attention and early states should reflect the diversity of the country.
“Here’s the reality — no one state should have a lock on going first,” Dingell said.
Since the 1992 presidential race, the winner of the South Carolina Democratic nominating contest has historically gone on to be the nominee, with the exception of John Kerry’s win in 2004.
John Edwards, who won the 2004 South Carolina primary, was selected as Kerry’s running mate.
“We’re pretty good at sniffing out campaigns that aren’t going to cut it and campaigns that will cut it,” Robertson said. “We believe that we will put our best foot forward and continue doing what we’ve done best in the past.”
Robertson acknowledged South Carolina’s new calendar put will put more attention and pressure on the state and Democrats.
“We have to go back and refocus every county party, every precinct organization, and we’ve got to live up to the standard and the expectations of America,” Robertson said.
This story was originally published February 4, 2023 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Democrats pick South Carolina to go 1st in 2024 presidential primary."
