Washington – A Democratic National Committee panel voted Saturday to shake up the 2008 presidential nominating schedule, recommending that Nevada and South Carolina move to coveted January time slots, while denying Colorado’s bid to advance its caucus date.
Colorado was one of several states in the running to move its caucus between the early Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary in hopes of raising the importance of its nominating contest.
If the panel’s recommendation becomes official next month when the full national committee acts on it, Nevada’s caucus will be held Jan. 19, 2008, immediately after Iowa’s caucus Jan. 14.
South Carolina’s primary would immediately follow New Hampshire’s primary Jan. 22.
Although Colorado lost out to Nevada in Saturday’s vote, a Colorado party official said there were simply a lot of complex elements involved in determining the primary order. As a solidly red state, “Nevada is a little less threatening to New Hampshire” than Colorado, said Pat Waak, chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party.
“We’re a state in transition … but you know, we’re going to be players one way or the other,” she said.
Democrats decided to make the changes so the West and South would have greater sway in choosing presidential candidates.
Minorities have also complained that predominantly white New Hampshire and Iowa do not represent the ethnic diversity of the country.
Colorado did not receive a single vote when the final votes of the panel, the Rules and Bylaws Committee, came in. Several panel members said that they considered Colorado over Nevada and Arizona but that Colorado didn’t make an aggressive enough push.
Colorado submitted a presentation in support of its bid at an April meeting in New Orleans, but Harold Ickes, a Democratic activist and committee member, said officials didn’t try hard enough to make a case.
“Colorado came in way too late,” Ickes said.
Dan Slater, first vice chairman of the Colorado Democratic Party who led the push to change the caucus date, said he thought the problem wasn’t so much with Colorado’s presentation, which emphasized the state’s diverse population, but that Nevada had momentum and that Denver is one of three states vying for the 2008 Democratic convention.
Former President Clinton and White House hopefuls such as Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., have criticized the idea of rearranging the nominating schedule, saying it alters a historic process that has served the party well.
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