Will Nevada Really Vote First In 2024?

Jonathan Bernstein: “After 12 quiet years for the presidential-nomination calendar, we may soon be in for a serious fight. The Nevada legislature on Monday passed a bill that would kick off the nomination process in that state, ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire.”

“Easier said than done, of course. New Hampshire will reschedule its first-in-the-nation primary ahead of any other state’s, and Iowa will schedule its first-in-the-nation caucuses eight days before that. Unless the federal government acts — and that’s unlikely — the national political parties have very limited ability to regulate the process. They can penalize states for violating their guidelines, and they can penalize candidates for campaigning in those states. But the only real leverage the parties have is refusing to seat a state’s delegates, and no one cares about delegates in the early caucus and primary states; the reason candidates campaign in those states is because of the enormous publicity the early contests receive, and no one can order the media to simply ignore such an event.”