States line up for fight to go first in Democrats' next presidential primary

[Fiendish Thingy]

16. Biden was the only candidate who improved after IA/NH, and largely due to Clyburn/SC primary

Many candidates dropped out before the first primary.

Candidates spend a lot of money before the first vote is cast, and then two states who will have no impact on the outcome in the general vote, and those results, along with the media narrative, make it very difficult to raise money and stay in the race if you didn’t win one or both of those meaningless states.

Biden was only able to survive because he had a big war chest and entered the race later than most if not all the other candidates, (didn’t he miss the first couple debates because he hadn’t declared yet?) so spent less of his funds before the first votes were cast. That’s another reason to not only change which state goes first, but to move the first primary later in the calendar, say to March. That would be better for everyone except the campaign consultants.