The Story:
Within the Democratic Party competition for the Presidential nomination in 2020 is bound to be intense. Among potential candidates and analysts alike, attention has turned to the implications of the schedule of the state primaries and caucuses, which will be different in 2020 in important respect from what it has been in recent decades.
Background:
For a long time now, New Hampshire has held the nation’s first primary election, for both parties, and the campaign schedule has been spread out over the late winter and the whole spring before the selection of the final (large) block of delegates in the California primary in June. Specifics of the scheduling have changed, but that broad pattern has been a constant.
Critics have long complained that New Hampshire is unrepresentative of the country as a whole (too white and too rural) and that its prominence has distorted the overall nominating process.
The Thing to Know:
In the Democratic Party race in 2020, though, the California primary will take place much earlier than ever before: on March 3. This means that though the New Hampshire primary retain its status as first, it may be overshadowed.
