Harold Hutchison on May 19, 2023
Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina said in an interview that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) altered the 2024 primary calendar to boost President Joe Biden in 2024.
“I don’t think you’re stacking the deck. I think you’re avoiding embarrassment,” Clyburn reportedly told CNN host Chris Wallace, Politico reported. “And that is what he is attempting to avoid here. And I would expect anybody to do the same.”
The DNC altered the primary calendar in February, bumping the traditional Iowa caucuses from their first-in-the-nation spot, and New Hampshire from its spot as the first presidential primary. New Hampshire will have its vote on Feb. 6 with Nevada in the new calendar.
Biden performed poorly in Iowa and New Hampshire in the 2020 presidential primaries before his fortunes turned around when he won the South Carolina primary with 48.6% of the vote after he gained Clyburn’s endorsement.
Iowa and New Hampshire have state laws requiring that they have the first presidential nomination of its kind on the books, but that could lead to the DNC stripping those states of delegates at the Democratic National Convention.
The DNC drew criticism from author Marianne Williamson and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., both of whom are challenging Biden for the Democratic nomination, for refusing to schedule debates, according to Fox News.
