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Joe Biden traveled to South Carolina on Thursday to present his economic plan.
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But his return to the state that resurrected his primary campaign underscores how difficult he is to repay the favor.
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Biden wants South Carolina to lead the 2024 primary race, but enacting his plan has been anything but easy.
President Joe Biden has just visited South Carolina, touting his economic plan in a state singularly responsible for his election. But paying back the life-changing political fortune bestowed on him by the Palmetto state proves far more complex than anyone imagined.
Biden was aiming to be the first Democrat since George McGovern to make sweeping changes to how the Democratic Party elects a president. His proposal, published last December, had the effect of a bomb, but the DNC approved it in February.
Gone are the first Iowa caucuses in the nation. In fact, caucuses, once a popular way for party regulars to express their preference, would be scrapped entirely. New Hampshire, the state that prides itself on choosing presidents thanks to its first primary in the nation, would be tied for second. In their place, South Carolina would go from its first primary in the south to lead the entire schedule. Nevada, which would also drop its caucuses, would join New Hampshire in the second primary. Georgia, a state that narrowly elected Biden and two Democratic senators, would then follow. And then Michigan would wrap up the first slate.
At least, that’s how it was supposed to be.
In practice, it’s chaos. Indeed, while the DNC may propose changes, setting new primary dates often requires buy-in from state legislatures and governors. In cases like Georgia, that means getting Republicans to agree. (They didn’t.) Many Republicans are skeptical since their national party has kept much of the same timeline. This means that some states may be forced to hold multiple primaries, a more expensive undertaking.
Other states like New Hampshire hate losing a status they’ve clung to for decades. The Granite State loves its primary so much that it has a law that requires its secretary of state to make sure he goes first. Democrats there are angry at Biden’s changes, but so far have yet to face the reality of what would happen if they held a presidential primary without the president’s name on the ballot. vote. Rebellious states also risk losing delegates to the national convention, a punishment that can certainly sting.
“The reality is that New Hampshire is going to keep the nation’s first primary,” New Hampshire Democratic Party chairman Ray Buckley told The New York Times Magazine, “and the only question is whether or not the president going to put his name on the ballot. They’re trying to go after New Hampshire, but it won’t succeed. So why go through all the pain?”
All of these changes are for the 2024 cycle. Theoretically speaking, Democrats could do it all again for the 2028 election.
Read the original article on Business Insider