The Democrats knew that Joe Biden might be in trouble with the way that their primary schedule normally works.
We’ve seen how in the past they rigged things to try to help Hillary Clinton in her run against Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2016. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz got booted from her chairmanship after that scandal broke. We’ve reported on how they refuse to have any primary debates, even though Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been posting some credible numbers as an alternative to Biden. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has similar numbers depending on the poll in the GOP primary. But the folks who are always screaming “democracy” aren’t such fans of it when they think it might somehow threaten their power.
So the DNC wasn’t shy about trying to change the schedule to help Joe Biden.
The DNC met last December and then in February formally voted to okay the new schedule. Instead of having Iowa and New Hampshire first — places where Biden has not done well in the past — they voted to move South Carolina to first in the nation (the state that saved Joe Biden’s nomination in 2020), followed by New Hampshire and Nevada, then Michigan and Georgia. The official rationale was that this elevation of states was more reflective of the Democratic party’s diversity.
But the funny thing is that the move may end up backfiring on Biden. There’s a new report indicating that the states who got moved out may buck what the DNC voted on and run their primaries on the regular schedule anyway.
In a reality that is looking “increasingly likely” according to an Axios report last Thursday, Iowa and New Hampshire will still be the first states to hold their contests before South Carolina’s primary, states where “Biden’s team is indicating he won’t be on the ballots” if they end up bucking the DNC’s officially sanctioned calendar.
It’s looking like New Hampshire and Iowa might just defy the DNC and do what they want.
Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire could defy Biden and move ahead with their contests — even as the party warns it will strip them of their national convention delegates if they jump the gun.
That sets up a scenario in which Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or another long-shot Democrat could win those states — and embarrass the president…
Since Biden’s surprise decision last December to make South Carolina the first state in Democrats’ 2024 season with a primary on Feb. 3, New Hampshire Democrats have openly bashed the White House and the Democratic National Committee…
Iowa Democrats haven’t been as publicly hostile over Biden’s move. But in the past two months they’ve quietly moved to hold their contest the same day as Iowa Republicans — in January, but with a mail-in option for ballots…
The DNC rejected Iowa’s plan to hold the caucuses on the same day as Republicans — “at least 8 days before” any other state’s contest — and they gave New Hampshire until September 1 to move theirs after South Carolina, which they aren’t likely to comply with.
What would happen if New Hampshire and Iowa don’t comply? It would mean they could run their contests without Biden’s name on the ballot, which could greatly disadvantage the president. It would also mean that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be greatly helped in his run against Biden, especially in New Hampshire, where he’s likely to be more popular.
So in their effort to help Biden, they may just have made things much worse for him.