Could Iowa Go Rogue in 2028 After DNC Committee Ouster?

WASHINGTON — Iowa Democrats did everything they could to appease the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2024 election, even giving up their first-in-the-nation caucus status.

But in a move that suggests the maxim “no good deed will go unpunished” still stands, the state party this week lost its seat on the DNC’s influential Rules and Bylaws Committee.

Adding insult to injury, New Hampshire, which actually defied the Democratic Party’s calendar by holding an unsanctioned presidential primary last year, has been awarded a second seat on the panel, which oversees the presidential nominating calendar.

The decision is one of the first with significant repercussions made since the DNC elected its new chair, Ken Martin, in February.

It effectively means Scott Brennan, a lifelong Iowan, longtime progressive, and one-time chair of the Iowa State Democrats, has been left out in the cold.

Brennan, a lawyer who began his political life as a Capitol Hill staffer for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, told the Des Moines Register that the state party had hoped that if it played by the DNC’s rules in 2024, the national party would at least consider restoring Iowa to an early spot in the 2028 presidential contest.

The three other states that traditionally have held contests early in the quadrennial primary season — New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — will each have two representatives on the committee.

All three gained their second seat on the Rules and Bylaws Committee this year.

Iowa has had a seat on the panel the last four presidential election cycles. 

“It is clear that the 2024 process was broken,” Brennan told the Register.

“There were lots of discussions … about how we were going to have a fair process in 2028. And it certainly doesn’t feel like [Martin’s] off to a good start toward a fair process.”

In an email to The Well News, Abhi Rahman, deputy communications director for the DNC, said the committee is “committed to running a fair, transparent, and rigorous process for the 2028 primary calendar.”

“All states will have an opportunity to participate. Iowa’s DNC members and Chair Rita Hart are fierce advocates for Iowa Democrats and they will have their voices heard during that process,” Rahman said.

The Well News has reached out to the Brennan and the Iowa Democratic Party and will update this story with their responses.

Rita Hart, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, has said she expects to have “tough and direct conversations” with the DNC regarding the Iowa Caucuses.

“National Democrats let Trump get a head start in the 2024 campaign by excluding Iowa. We simply can’t afford to be ignored again,” she said.

It should be stated that one Iowan, Gregory Christensen, continues to serve as a member of the DNC’s Resolutions Committee.

For his part, Brennan suggested to the Register that the state party could hold a rogue event that goes against the DNC’s official calendar in 2028, similar to what New Hampshire did last year.

For those who may not recall, the Democratic National Committee voted in February 2023, to remove Iowa from the early procession of presidential nominating states.

The decision by the Rules and Bylaws Committee replaced Iowa with South Carolina, which was then to be followed by New Hampshire and Nevada, which were scheduled to vote on the same day, and then Georgia followed by Michigan.

At the time, the committee said the change stemmed from President Joe Biden’s desire to reward more diverse states and favor primary elections over caucuses.

Many also saw the move as payback for the disastrous 2020 caucus, in which results were grossly delayed due to a faulty smartphone app used by the state party to tally them.

As an alternative to its historically early caucus in 2024, the Iowa Democratic Party gave its traditional caucus-goers presidential preference cards which they then mailed in to be counted, with the results being withheld until Super Tuesday in March.

The Republican National Party cheered the development, calling it proof the Democrats had abandoned rural America. It also went ahead with the traditional order of caucuses and primaries, with Iowa first, then proceeding to New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

Unlike Iowa, New Hampshire Democrats bucked the party, and held their primary in January, the state asserting it was legally obligated to hold both party primaries the first month of the year.

Though Biden refused to participate or even have his name appear on the Granite State ballot, a grass-roots, write-in effort assured he won the primary by a wide, wide margin.

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and on X @DanMcCue