Nevada Democrats go all out to hold their first presidential runs – and drive other early states mad

LAS VEGAS – Nevada Democrats fiercely want to host the first time in the country presidential preliminaryand they’re pushing harder than ever to eliminate domination of New Hampshire and Iowa.

They printed out brochures about their state, sent letters to key members of the Democratic National Committee, and personally lobbied them.

Problem? The efforts have left some of the competitors in their original state fuming.

A DNC member from a state with an early contest, who asked to remain anonymous if not authorized to speak on the matter, accused Nevada leaders of backing off the informal pledge of delegations from The initial four states are to stop lobbying for the first registrant. -National status in presidential primaries.

This member described a meeting between leaders of four states initially at the Hilton in Washington last month, at which members from four states – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina – agree not to try to jump ahead of the others, at least until the DNC Rules and Regulations Committee comes up with a new framework.

Less than 12 hours later, Senator Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., “Working in a hotel room meeting with individual members of the [committee] try to convince them Nevada should be the first,” said this member. Two other people who attended the meeting confirmed the member’s report.

Rosen, who did not attend the state meeting, handed out a glossy Nevada brochure promoting Nevada’s argument. However, the move upset other early state officials, who believed Nevada would back away from its deal.

“Other early states were stunned by Nevada’s behavior,” the member said. “Lying in poker may be a winning game in Vegas, but lying in politics just makes you useless.”

A second person in attendance said, “It’s going political at a time when the team from Nevada doesn’t need to do it.”

Artie Blanco, a member of the DNC’s Rules and Regulations Committee who attended the meeting, was surprised by the outcry, saying she took a completely different point of view in the conversation.

“I’m surprised that this sounds like some kind of personal attack, when it’s not about it, when I’ve shown support for all four states,” Blanco said Tuesday night. . “That’s not how I interpret that conversation. This is not against any state, but it is also clear that our law was passed last year.”

In an interview last week, Rosen emphasized that Democrats in her state are working in unison on the bid.

“This is a team effort to push Nevada to be first in the country,” said Rosen.

The late Senator Harry Reid, who built a powerful political machine in the state, enthusiastically supported the party to remove the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primaries from their longtime leads in the Democratic presidential primary. That was after Reid in 2008 included Nevada in the original state primaries to become the first state in the West to hold a Democratic primary.

“I think after these four cycles, it’s time for us to be first in the country,” says Rosen.

The entire Nevada Democratic congressional delegation, along with Governor Steve Sisolak, recently sent a letter to members of the key DNC panel proposing the case for Nevada to become the nation’s first state, according to a copy obtained by NBC News.

Show the political power they expended after their bid, Sisolak, Sens. Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto and delegates Susie Lee, Dina Titus and Steven Horsford outlined Nevada’s political strengths in a letter to members of the Rules and Regulations Committee.

“As a highly competitive battleground with strong union representation and one of the most diverse constituencies in the country, our state presents a true test of who can assemble a winning coalition,” the letter was sent this month.

The DNC is moving closer to canceling Iowa’s 50-year tradition of holding the nation’s first caucuses and could make New Hampshire its first full primaries. Iowa has damaged its reputation with serious problems compiling the 2020 caucus, and the party is reassessing the overwhelming influence of two predominantly white states on the nomination. appoint the president.

States that want to be available soon must now re-register for their slots, and four of the earliest states – Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina – prepare to argue to stay in the early window or go ahead.

A Nevada Democrat involved in early state-building has denied that the state has somehow backtracked on its word.

“Nevada’s push to be first and its ability to navigate the process should not come as a surprise to anyone,” the Democrat said. The minority-friendly, union-friendly battleground state with accessible voting rights has a better case than any other for reflecting party values. The Democratic Union is evolving and the calendar needs to evolve with it.”

Nevada’s diversity – specifically a Latino Population that’s bursting in growth – which is its biggest selling point, especially in the Democratic Party’s battle to retain a select group of voters. increasingly flirting of the Republican Party. Unlike Iowa or South Carolina, which are completely red states, Nevada is a battleground state with important competitive races, and that means a high-profile, well-funded primary could be start the general election with organization and message, the Nevada Democrats argued.

They also point to the state’s smaller size and the fact that it only has two media markets, which helps avoid the daily valuation of applicants.

“It’s important to just start to let people understand that when they run for office or for re-election, they are still accountable to a diverse group of voters,” Rosen said.

The DNC Executive Board meets on Wednesday to devise a new framework for states looking to apply to be the first in the country. One draft resolution sets new criteria that seem tailor-made for Nevada. It favors primaries over caucuses (Nevada just dropped the caucus to switch to state-run primaries), seeks population diversity, and favors a state that elects Democrats in general election and have a “fair and fair electoral process,” according to the draft.

“There was a feeling among all Democrats in Nevada that the stars were aligned. Now is the time when we can really make this kind of change,” said Blanco. “We have won the right to start this process.”

Las Vegas is also running to organize Democratic National Conference 2024but that backs away from the nation’s first push, more than a dozen Democrats said in interviews here.

There is a recognition among the alienating factions of the Democrats here that divisions within their party may be their Achilles heel in the quest to reach the bid. The split came a year ago when Judith Whitmer, a supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and her Democratic Socialist Party group took over the state party. The Founding Democrats moved their fundraisers and staff from Las Vegas to Washoe County, a surrounding county that includes Reno.

Whitmer says that in recent weeks she has been in contact with Blanco about next steps for the first domestic bid.

“Nevada is a battleground state, which is another advantage for the party,” Whitmer said in an interview. “If you have a good measure of how candidates are – the kind of response they get from people here – that’s a good measure of what you’re going to get across the country.”

Chris Roberts, a Social Democrat who is now chair of the Clark County Democratic Party, noted the ability to cross different parties’ efforts.

“Whatever ideological differences there may be,” he said, “there are no divisions so profound that we disagree on this issue.”

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here