Iowa Democrats Reveal Their Caucus Compromise

That Iowa Democratic Party says it's "definitely a compromise": It announced Friday that while it will caucus on Jan. 15, it won't reveal results until Super Tuesday. The AP calls it an attempt "to retain their state's leadoff spot on the presidential nominating calendar without violating a new national party lineup that has South Carolina going first for 2024." On that January day, Iowa Democrats will only vote on down-ballot races; presidential caucus balloting will take place via mail during January and February, with cards mailed out starting Jan. 12, reports the Des Moines Register. The Democratic National Committee is meeting Friday and will discuss whether to approve the proposal.

President Biden had in December called on the DNC to put South Carolina first. Newser reported at the time that Iowa's first-in-the-nation position had come under fire: Its overwhelmingly white populace is not representative of the country as a whole; it will have no Democratic members in the next Congress; and its 2020 caucus process was disastrous due to technical glitches that led to a dayslong delay in reporting the results. Under the DNC's new 2024 primary calendar, South Carolina will go first on Feb. 3—a position New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the nation's first primary, has rejected.

The AP notes it's not a high-stakes issue for 2024 since Biden will go up against no major Democratic challengers, but the changes made could alter the shape of the party's presidential nominating process for years to come. Politico reports Iowa Democrats are playing the "long game," citing a letter to the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee from Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart in which she said she had gotten "repeated reassurance from the co-chairs and this committee" that Iowa will "compete strongly for a significant voice" in future years. (Iowa Republicans already announced its presidential caucuses will take place on Jan. 15.)