Iowans from both parties have fought tooth and nail over the years to maintain their state’s position as the earliest electoral contest held to determine the presidential nomination.
And why not? If the Iowa caucuses lost their preeminent position as first in the nation, the state would lose millions of dollars in tax revenue. During the political season, Iowa’s population increases by several thousand with campaigns, media, and hangers-on flooding the state for months. That doesn’t include more than $100 million dollars in political advertising.
So it’s a big deal when, every four years, Democrats threaten to take away Iowa’s unique position as kingmaker because — let’s face it, gang — Iowa is very, very white. And that lack of “diversity” (matched only by the lack of diversity in political thought among Democrats) troubles the good woke Democrats who run the party.
Washington Post:
The document, labeled “draft for discussion,” defines three criteria for the party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) to select early nominating states: the diversity of the electorate “including ethnic, geographic, union representation, economic, etc.;” the competitiveness of the state in a general election; and the ability of the state to administer a “fair, transparent and inclusive” process.
Iowa lacks significant racial or ethnic diversity, is no longer viewed as a swing state and is bound by law to hold a nominating caucus, not a statewide primary.
The RBC will examine applications from all states and make their determination on which state goes first. The committee will select five states to hold their primaries or caucuses before the first Tuesday in March. Any state that goes earlier will have their delegates’ voting privileges at the convention stripped.
Party radicals have been pushing to change the process that made Iowa the first to go and only succeeded because of the absolute clusterfark the 2020 caucuses became.
Nevada could step into the breach caused by too-white Iowa and New Hampshire being left out.
Nevada leaders, including Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), have circulated a glossy brochure in recent weeks that boasts of the state’s racial, ethnic and economic diversity, high union membership rate, significant rural population and the recent success Democrats have had in the historical swing state.
The brochure includes quotes from journalists attacking New Hampshire’s and Iowa’s head-of-the-pack positions as giving disproportionate power to two states with overwhelmingly White populations. About 90 percent of Iowa residents are White, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, as are 93 percent of New Hampshire residents. By contrast, 74 percent of Nevada and 69 percent of South Carolina are White.
“Come to Nevada because we’re not as white as Iowa or New Hampshire”! It’s a little long for a bumper sticker or a T-shirt, but it tells the story, yes?
The backstory to Nevada’s bid for “first in the nation” status is interesting. Last spring, the Democratic Socialists engineered a coup against the more moderate Harry Reid political machine that ran the state party for several decades. Reid turned a reliably red state into a purple state by moderating the Democrat’s messaging.
But now, there’s no hiding the Democrats’ radicalism. The socialist Democratic chair, Judith Whitmer, is an avowed Bernie Sanders foot soldier and supports Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the squad.
If Democrats want all that attention focused on Nevada Democrats, they’re more than welcome to destroy tradition to do it.
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