To the soundtrack of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” a group of leading Democrats from Minnesota paraded in front of the National Party on Thursday to argue for allowing the state to reschedule its presidential primary to become one of the first in the nation.
Placing Minnesota in the company—or perhaps ousting—Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina could bring unprecedented national attention, political activism, and money to the state, possibly starting in 2024.
But for something to change, the state Republican Party must agree, and so far they have been silent, although some Republicans from Minnesota have expressed their support for the idea.
On Wednesday, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Secretary of State Steve Simon, Rep. Angie Craig and Democratic Farm Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin traveled to Washington, D.C. to try to persuade the Democratic National Committee of the Committee on Rules and bylaws that Gopher State, in their presentation, is the “North Star of Democracy,” a diverse and engaged constituency that should serve as the Midwest’s first testing ground for presidential candidates.
That’s why all this is happening.
Iowa Regrets
Minnesota is currently holding its presidential primaries on “Super Tuesday”, the first Tuesday in March, along with 14 other states.
For decades, Iowa was the first state in the nation to begin weeding out a field of presidential candidates. But Hawkeye State, once hailed as the flagship in the heart of the country, has lost its luster in recent years – to Democrats.
The state’s predominantly white — and increasingly Republican — electorate was already causing concern as the 2020 campaign season rolled around, as was Iowa’s close-ballot system. But the final straw may have been the infamous problems with the Iowa Democratic Party’s caucuses that year, which left everyone in the dark about the actual results for several days.
The DNC decided it wanted to shake up its calendar, and there were signs that Iowa could no longer be the first state.
This opened the floodgates, with Minnesota among the 14 states, with Puerto Rico applying for the party’s blessing to be one of the first – meaning it’s not clear what the DNC would ultimately want, though there were indications that the party would like to see a mix of geographic regions represented in the first states.
This is where Minnesota comes in: a potential flag bearer for the Midwest.
CASE OF MINNESOTA
The case brought forward by the Minnesota team on Thursday was basically this: we have an ultra-high voter turnout, we are more like a battlefield than we are often credited with, and, oh yes, we are actually not that white.
“We are going to dissuade you of two things,” Martin told the committee. “Firstly, we are just a bunch of Scandinavians with no diversity. And the second is that we are not a competitive state.”
The diversity statement was presented by members of the team itself: Allison is black and a follower of the Nation of Islam, Craig is gay, and Flanagan is a member of the White Earth Ojibwe group.
However, when one DNC committee member pointedly asked what percentage of the state’s population was white, Minnesotans did not answer directly, but rather pointed to a demographic known as the “diffusion rate”—the percentage of the population that was not white. part of the three largest ethnic groups in the state: whites, blacks and Hispanics.
“We are proud that Minnesota is home to the world’s largest Somali diaspora, the nation’s largest population of Liberians and Karen, the nation’s second-largest Hmong population, and 11 federally recognized tribal nations,” the committee said in a statement. . (According to the census, 83.8% of Minnesotans are white, compared to 76.3% nationally, but compared to 90.6% of Iowans.)
COMPETITION: MICHIGAN AND ILLINOIS
Minnesota’s stated goal is not to oust Iowa and become No. 1, but to be part of the early mix.
The state’s main competitors appear to be Michigan and Illinois, and each state’s proponents of merit are quietly playing games of comparison and contrast, trying to prove why their state is the best choice. (Minnesotans will say Illinois is too blue, and Detroit’s Michigan media market is too expensive.)
Michigan’s biggest hurdle seems to be how it could actually move its bulk. While the blessings of the national parties are important to the state parties, the actual authority to set primary dates rests solely with each state.
Michigan law would require the consent of Republican leaders in the state legislature. In Minnesota, the process is perhaps simpler, requiring only the consent of state party chairmen.
It is unclear what will happen in any state. According to the Washington Post, any state Republican party that tries to bypass Iowa will be subject to sanctions by the national Republican Party in accordance with its rules.
GOP SUPPORT?
David Hann, chairman of the Republican Party of Minnesota, declined to comment to Pioneer Press this week. Democrats might have hoped that signals of support from the DNC, as well as potential pressure from other Republicans, could provide Hann with cover to support the idea. The profile of the state Republican Party could rise significantly from status as a flyover of the purple state to an important stop in the campaign.
So far, a number of prominent Republican establishment figures have publicly pledged their support, including former Governor Tim Pawlenty, former US Senator Norm Coleman, former US Rep. Vin Weber, and six former senior state GOP officials: former chairmen Rob Eibensteiner and Ron Carey, former Vice Chairs Kelly Fenton and Michael Broadkorb, former Chief Executive Becky Alery, and former Communications Director Mark Drake.
DFL Chairman Martin told the DNC on Thursday that he was confident the state party would eventually support the change. “I am convinced that we will get them there,” he said.
The DNC said it would announce its preferences in August.
