The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
JOHNSTON — Iowa Democrats should once again make the first move in the nation’s quadrennial process of selecting its next president, the national Democratic Party be damned, a newly minted leader in the state party said Friday.
Iowa Rep. Brian Meyer, of Des Moines, who recently was chosen by his peers to lead Democrats in the Iowa House, said Friday that Iowa Democrats should once again cast their choices for president before any other state — as they had for nearly a half-century until the national party changed its primary calendar in 2023.
Meyer said Iowa Democrats should hold their presidential precinct caucuses first in the nation, regardless of what the national party thinks or how it creates its primary schedule.
“We need to bring back the caucuses. And I’ve long since advocated for us being put back into the No. 1 spot,” Meyer said Friday while taping his appearance on this weekend’s episode of “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS. He added later, “And if the national Democratic Party doesn’t like it, I don’t care.”
Meyer said Iowa Democrats could avoid the complex formula of their former caucus system and operate with a simple straw poll, which is what Iowa Republicans do for their presidential precinct caucuses.
How we got here
For decades, the Iowa caucuses — for both Democrats and Republicans — were the first contests of the presidential election. The Iowa caucuses were then followed in each party by New Hampshire’s primary elections.
After the 2020 presidential election, national Democrats decided to change their primary election schedule. For 2024 — at the recommendation of then-President Joe Biden, who claimed a need to amplify more diverse voices in the party — the first state in the Democratic primary was South Carolina, a state Biden won in the 2020 primaries. Iowa was bumped down the order and was one of 16 states to hold its caucus or primary on Super Tuesday.
Biden finished fourth in the 2020 Iowa caucuses.
Even though national Democrats bumped Iowa and New Hampshire out of their respective first-in-the-nation slots, New Hampshire held its primary election first anyway, before South Carolina’s.
The Democratic National Committee originally threatened not to seat New Hampshire’s delegates at the party’s national convention over the primary, but New Hampshire party leaders later that year held a so-called firehouse primary — conducted by party officials rather than the state — which the DNC said put the state back in compliance.
Meyer: Do what New Hampshire did
Meyer said Iowa Democrats should stand their ground the way New Hampshire did in 2024.
“New Hampshire and Iowa were tossed last time. New Hampshire moved forward. They did what they needed to do and what they wanted to do. (The national party) still seated those delegates,” Meyer said. “At the end of the day, we need to do what we need to do. And I propose that we just move forward with our caucuses as normal. …
“Just to go ahead and jettison the caucuses altogether, I think was a mistake in 2024. And I would like to see them come back.”
Meyer made the argument, as supporters of the state’s first-in-the-nation status have for years, that Iowa is a good starting point for the presidential nominating process because candidates can introduce themselves to voters face-to-face without needing millions of dollars to support television ads.
Meyer said the national party is suffering by not having a Midwest state as the starting point of its process for picking a presidential candidate.
“Iowa is the best place to sort out the wheat from the chaff and get us back to where we need to be as a party,” Meyer said. “We on the national level are missing the Midwest common sense that Iowa has brought to those caucuses. And I advocate very strongly that we come back with those caucuses.”
State, national Democrats react
A national party spokesperson responded to Meyer’s comments by saying that Iowa Democrats will “have their voices heard” when the party’s 2028 presidential primary calendar is created.
Earlier this month, however, the DNC removed Iowa’s Scott Brennan from its committee that sets the party’s primary calendar.
“The DNC is committed to running a fair, transparent, and rigorous process for the 2028 primary calendar. All states will have an opportunity to participate,” DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman said in an emailed statement. “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’s was the same statement the DNC sent The Gazette in early June after Brennan was removed from the national party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee.
At that time, Brennan left open the possibility of Iowa Democrats following New Hampshire’s lead and holding a rogue caucus in 2028 ahead of any other state.
“I think there is a large measure of freedom that comes with not sitting at the table,” Brennan told The Gazette after his removal. “I am disappointed that current DNC administration didn’t feel fit to give Iowa a voice. That’s a political decision they made, but frankly makes things easier for us to decide what we want to do.”
A spokesperson for the Iowa Democratic Party, in a statement, said Friday that party leaders will have conversations about the Iowa Democratic caucuses.
“The Iowa Democratic Party and Chair (Rita) Hart will continue to have conversations with leader Meyer, the DNC and Iowa Democrats surrounding our caucuses and our concerns with the Biden 2024 calendar,” Iowa Democratic Party spokesperson Paige Godden said in the statement. “While we look forward to those discussions, we are also gearing up for 2026 and bringing balance back to our state.”
How to watch
“Iowa Press” can be viewed on Iowa PBS at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and noon on Sunday, or any time at iowapbs.org.
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
Get the latest Iowa politics and government coverage each morning in the On Iowa Politics newsletter.