Harry Reid: Early voting states Iowa, New Hampshire 'not representative of the country anymore' [View all]

[highplainsdem]

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/470899-former-senate-leader-harry-reid-says-early-voting-states-iowa-and-new

“I don’t think it matters what happens in Iowa or New Hampshire because those states are not representative of the country anymore,” Reid said Sunday, according to the Associated Press.

Reid said his home state of Nevada, which is third in line to hold its presidential primary, is more representative of the country’s demographics than both Iowa and New Hampshire.

Reid pointed to the Latino, black and Asian American population in Nevada as the reason behind his rationale.

Nevada’s population is made up of about 48 percent with white residents, compared to Iowa’s white population of roughly 85 percent and New Hampshire’s 90 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 60 percent of the U.S. population as a whole is white.

Reid said too much focus is placed on Iowa and New Hampshire early on, limiting Nevada and other states' roles in electing the president.

"You guys make too big a deal out of it," Reid told reporters ahead of a fundraiser for the Nevada Democratic Party. “Iowa and New Hampshire are just not indicative of what is going to happen."

Nevada and South Carolina, the third and fourth states to vote, have considerably more diverse demographics than Iowa and New Hampshire. Black voters make up about two-thirds of the Democratic primary electorate in South Carolina.

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, made similar remarks last week.