Minnesota Democrats hopeful for early presidential primary spot as national party weighs future of nominating contests

MINNEAPOLIS – The chair of the Minnesota DFL believes there is a "50/50" chance Minnesota earns a coveted spot to vote early the 2024 presidential primary, as national party leaders will soon decide the future of their nominating calendar.

The potential shakeup could boot Iowa and its caucuses from the first-in-the-nation spot, a position it has held since 1972. The Midwestern states of Minnesota and Michigan have sights on replacing Iowa in the slate of early voting states.

"We are leading in the nation in voter turnout. We are a highly civically engaged electorate. Minnesotans care deeply about politics, about voting, about being engaged in the community," said Ken Martin, who chairs the DFL Party. "As a result, there's no better state to have a huge role in this nominating process in the early states ... than Minnesota."

The Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee in Washington, D.C., this weekend is set to discuss whether or not to shake up the primary calendar. Earlier this year, the group decided that no more than five states would vote before March 1 -- Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina have been the first four states in that window since 2008.

Martin believes Minnesota meets the DNC's criteria for consideration, which includes the state's competitiveness in general elections and diversity. Minnesota joins 16 other states -- including Iowa and New Hampshire -- that have submitted applications to the committee.

"I think Minnesota and Michigan can make the case on a whole host of fronts that they are key battlegrounds," Martin said. "Going into this weekend it's a 50/50 proposition which one of us will end up securing that bid."

Iowa's first-in-the-nation position has faced scrutiny over the years, but it intensified after 2020 descended into chaos when technical difficulties contributed to delays in results, which cast doubt on the process.

The potential calendar shift has the support from DFL Gov. Tim Walz and legislative leaders House Speaker Melissa Hortman and incoming Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic, who in a letter to the committee this month highlighted the DFL's sweeping victories in statewide races and its majorities in the legislature as signs of the party's strength.  

"We are confident in the Minnesota DFL's ability to organize and win competitive elections, represent a wide array of voices, and our DFL Party's capacity to ensure a fair, inclusive nominating process with the highest engagement and voter participation in the Midwest and the nation," the letter states.

The three of them also vowed to change state law if necessary to allow a primary move to happen. State law right now requires that both parties jointly submit a single date for the primary that they agree on. A spokesman for the Minnesota GOP did not respond to a request for comment.

Martin said he would want Republican buy-in instead of legislative action. Former GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty is among the Republicans who endorse the idea and say it will benefit both parties.

"From an economic standpoint, whether you're Democrat or Republican, to have the focus on Minnesota early in a presidential campaign is good for both parties," Walz told reporters this week.

A study in Iowa suggested the economic impact of being first-in-the-nation is a relatively small. But the national attention and the outsize influence voters have on who should be in the White House are part of the appeal for states vying to go first.