Dems add S. Carolina, Nevada to early races

Sunday, August 20, 2006 New Hampshire, which has the first primary, objected loudly. CHICAGO (AP) — Democrats shook up tradition Saturday by vaulting Nevada and South Carolina into the first wave of 2008 presidential contests along with Iowa and New Hampshire — a move intended to add racial and geographic diversity to the early voting. The decision by the Democratic National Committee leaves Iowa as the nation's first presidential caucus and New Hampshire as the first primary, but wedges Nevada's caucuses before New Hampshire and South Carolina's primary soon afterward. The move also packs all four state contests into a politically saturated two weeks in January. The change means a potentially huge cast of Democratic presidential candidates could winnow quickly by the beginning of February. Party officials embraced the change, though New Hampshire Democrats joined several likely presidential candidates and former President Clinton in opposing the move. "It's an opportunity for the candidates to speak in a broader way to Democrats across the country," said Alexis M. Herman, the co-chairman of the DNC's rules committee that drafted the change. "It will be a plus for the candidates, and I think they will take advantage of it." Seeking diversity Driving the decision to alter the schedule was a long-held worry within the party that Iowa and New Hampshire, which are predominantly white, were not representative of the country's population and key Democratic constituencies. Blacks and Hispanics have complained they haven't had an adequate voice in the early contests. In choosing to squeeze Nevada caucuses between Iowa's Jan. 14 caucus and New Hampshire's Jan. 22 primary, party leaders kept in mind the state's large Hispanic population as well as its heavy labor union presence. South Carolina, with its large black population, could hold its primary as early as Jan. 29. But the primary calendar may not be final. New Hampshire objected loudly to the lineup and has threatened to leapfrog over the other contests to retain its pre-eminent role. "The DNC did not give New Hampshire its primary, and it is not taking away," New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said. Secretary of State William Gardner has said he will decide next year whether to move the New Hampshire primary earlier. Penalties Eager to avoid such a rebellion, Democrats also adopted sanctions to punish presidential candidates by penalizing those who campaign in states that cut in line. Under that plan, candidates who venture into states that ignore party rules would not get any delegates from those contests. But even DNC members were unsure how effective such a sanction would be, particularly if the states doing the leapfrogging are small and have few delegates to offer. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who led efforts to move his state earlier in the voting, said: "This will be an enormous undertaking, but our state party is up to the challenge." And South Carolina Democratic Chairman Joe Erwin praised the move, saying: "There's great regional diversity in four events strung out over a period of a couple weeks." Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.