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A bid by President Joe Biden to shake up the 2024 Democratic primary calendar has boosted the power and influence of Black voters and angered New Hampshire Democrats, but the effect on Nevada has been largely overlooked.
After receiving a letter from Biden, the Democratic National Committee voted to drop Iowa from its top five states, shooting South Carolina to the front of the line on February 3, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on February 6, with Georgia's primary on February 13, and Michigan rounding out the top five on February 27.
Some Nevada and Latino Democrats, who pushed for the state to be rewarded with a designation as the first primary state in the nation due to its diversity and pro-union bonafides, emerged frustrated with the decision.
The Silver State was given "short shrift," a Nevada campaign veteran told Newsweek. They argued that the Harry Reid they knew — the former Senate Majority leader and head of the successful political state infrastructure known as the "Reid machine" — would not have been satisfied with Biden's decision, and would have let him know it.
"No other states were asked to share a date," the source said. "Reid would be pissed and his team is pissed."
But in a 2021 interview with the New York Times, Reid stressed the importance of doing "everything we can to make sure that South Carolina and Nevada are two of the early states," noting that Iowa and New Hampshire no longer set the tone for the entire primary process.
Rebecca Lambe, Reid's former chief political strategist, said she saw progress in the new proposed calendar.
"Nevada fought hard for the first spot, and this new early states calendar represents progress," she told Newsweek. "I firmly believe our new placement in the calendar will continue to help us elevate our Latino community in a more meaningful way in future presidential primaries."
Other Democrats agreed that the calendar's top five has been improved by dropping Iowa, a state whose caucus process was celebrated as both an oddity and political rite of passage for years, before a breakdown in the voting counting process in the 2020 primary made its future on the calendar uncertain.
Julian Castro, a former presidential candidate who three years ago called for meaningful reforms, saying that Iowa and New Hampshire barely "have any Black people in them, any people of color," sees the proposed schedule as a vast improvement over the current one because it "better reflects the diversity within the party and country."
But he still called for further change by the time the full DNC votes to approve the calendar, likely early next year.
"My hope is that Nevada will stand alone as the second state to vote," he told Newsweek, citing the state's diversity, strong union presence, and status as a swing state.
Castro said if South Carolina was followed solely by Nevada it would make a strong statement about the commitment of the party to include everybody.
"The Latino community here in Nevada has been a huge part of the winning coalition for Democrats over the last several cycles," he said.
The White House did not respond to a Newsweek request for comment and whether a change to Nevada having its own voting day was possible before the final vote.
Biden, in his letter to the DNC, did not name South Carolina, Georgia or Michigan, but stressed the importance of African-American voters to the Democratic Party.
"For decades, Black voters in particular have been the backbone of the Democratic Party but have been pushed to the back of the early primary process," he wrote in a letter on personal stationery that did not carry the White House seal, the Associated Press reported. "We rely on these voters in elections but have not recognized their importance in our nominating calendar. It is time to stop taking these voters for granted, and time to give them a louder and earlier voice in the process."
The move is seen by many as the final proof needed to show that Biden will run for re-election, after Democrats bucked historical trends with a better-than-expected showing in the midterm election.
If that is the case, allies make clear, the order of states won't make a material difference, because Biden would be running unopposed. Democrats and analysts have also noted that the proposed new calendar could help Vice President Kamala Harris if she were to run in 2028 by stacking favorable states with large Black voter populations towards the front of the calendar.
On the ground in Georgia ahead of the Senate runoff election, Mi Familia Vota CEO Hector Sánchez Barba framed the opportunity for Democrats as one in direct opposition to the "white supremacism and extremism" Republicans embrace.
"Nevada is a perfect example of the kind of states that should go first, and is reflective of the composition of the Latino vote and the central role we play in defining elections," he said. "We need a more aggressive Democratic Party, a Democratic Party that does what is right."
Regardless of whether Biden's nomination ends up as a foregone conclusion, some Nevada Democrats and activists wonder if his recent history in the state played a role in the decision-making.
Leo Murrieta, the director of Make the Road in Nevada, who has knocked on the doors of Latino voters in Las Vegas for the last 15 years, including in the run-up to Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's tight win last month, called the decision "disappointing."
"If we're being honest, President Biden lost the Nevada caucuses of 2020, so maybe that left a bad taste in his mouth," Murrieta told Newsweek. "If Democrats want to develop a long game, elevating Nevada to number one would have been a smart move for the long haul, but I guess they have other plans."
Artie Blanco, a DNC member who publicly campaigned for Nevada to be given first in the nation status, said that she is happy that her state was still able to move up in the process, and isn't worried about whether candidates would make time to campaign in the state in the future.
"Nevada has early voting, Nevada has automatic vote by mail," she said, "so I don't think there's going to be a time when presidential candidates won't be here campaigning with Nevada voters."
Still, some Nevadans like Murrieta, who have given their heart and soul to canvassing and campaigning, were hoping for more.
"No offense to the good people of New Hampshire ,but Nevada is the future of the party and also the future of this country," he said. "Maybe they'll get that one day, maybe."
About the writer
Adrian Carrasquillo is a political reporter for Newsweek reporting on the 2020 election, who has covered national politics and Latino ... Read more