California voted to change its 2020 primary date to early March in 2017 — now, as Democrats rev up their campaigns, observers will likely see the new ways that change will force them to mold their campaigns.
According to a Monday Wall Street Journal report, a much earlier primary date will make candidates spend time on “West Coast issues” like the environment and immigration and to ramp up the advertising spending, as California is just too huge for grassroots campaigns to take hold.
The move also gives more power to minorities, especially Hispanics, while the first two primaries (Iowa and New Hampshire) have always given white people the loudest megaphone.
Many applaud the new primary date, which has also been adopted by Texas. In 2008, California held its primary in February and saw increased turnout as a result. However, some worry that it’ll throw the edge to candidates who are independently wealthy or primarily good fundraisers.
With grassroots campaigning largely impossible, candidates have to rely on advertising in an intensely expensive ad market. Per the WSJ, just one week of statewide ad buys in California can total $6 million.
STOP IT CALIFORNIA! This pisses me off. Only top tier, name recognized RICH FKING DEMS will be able to play. I thought we wanted the BEST candidates. Get back in your lane.
The Dems should re-think their primary schedule entirely. Giving conservative, rural, mostly-white states (IA and NH) the first votes is wrong. The first primaries should be moved to more diverse blue states on the coast.
If the DNC wanted to give people of color a voice in the first primaries, then they could do this. So far, they have not wanted to.
No democracy, no justice.
Bitch, bitch, bitch –
It’s wrong letting small rural white states like Iowa and New Hampshire have such a big voice in picking candidates. But it’s also wrong to let the biggest, most diverse state play a big role?
So what do we do? Same-day primaries nationwide? Regional primaries with rotating dates? Or what?
Regional primaries with rotating dates, I believe, was brought forth by Walter Mondale ages ago (1980’s?). It would be highly preferable to what occurs today.
We want candidates who can win the national election.
Agree with concept of equal access to the candidacy, but disagree with “RICH FKING” anaphylactic reaction to personal wealth. That’s the kind of BernieBro thinking that helped Trump win.