Seeking 2020 clout, California looks to jump the primary queue

[Jim Lane]

21. Moving up is one thing. Violating party rules, as in this bill, is very different.

I personally favor rotating regional primaries, but that won't happen anytime soon. The present system is the next best thing. There are early contests in small states, so that candidates can build their campaigns. The states are geographically distributed (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina). After that other states can go.

An early primary in California would be very bad because of the expense involved.

Nevertheless, no one's forcing California to wait until June. The state could move its primary to March (e.g., Super Tuesday) or April. Trying to muscle into one of the first four spots, however, will do nothing but set up a needless and potentially destructive confrontation with the Democratic National Committee.