How Democrats Could Hit A Grand Slam By Picking The Right Primary State
Published at : December 22, 2022
With 2024 right around the corner, Farron Cousins and Jeff Waldorf discuss how Democrats could more intelligently pick primary states.
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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
One last thing I gotta ask you real quick. Sure. Uh, Democrats are gonna shuffle up the primary, uh, calendar, thank God. Um, but then they say, uh, let's do South Carolina. And it makes me wanna slam my head into the desk cuz I've been, I've been saying for many, many, many, many, many years. Start with a swing state. Start with the swing state because you spend millions of dollars. You spend six months to 12 months walking around the whole state. Do it in a place where you actually could sway the way the voters in that state vote. In the pri or the general. So, uh, let's say Jeff Walter, if you have unilateral authority to pick the first primary and or caucus state, and Jeff with his overall number one pick has picked what state?
I actually would not pick one state specifically. I would actually have a rolling, you see, you go to whichever swing state is most important, most representative of the average American vote, not Democrat, not Republican, but average American voter, I don't think it should be located in one state for eternity. I don't think that system makes sense. I don't think holding the first primary in Iowa made any sense whatsoever. And not, not, you know, uh, no res disrespect to the people of Iowa. Good
People.
But I, yeah, I just don't think it made sense to do it in places that are, again, not competitive when it comes to general elections. Um, and, and, and to keep it in one place because you know how demographics change, people will move. Some states will see an increase in populations, uh, other states will see a decrease in populations. Um, and, and, and you'll see changes in voting patterns. And so what I think the, the primaries need to do is to follow the states that are most representative of what a general election looks like. So you avoid the issue of, for example, putting it in, uh, California. Cuz that wouldn't make sense cuz that's, you know, overwhelmingly, you know, slant it to one side and it's not representative, whatever. But also putting it in, in, as I said, Iowa or Alabama or Florida, you know, if, if those states happen to be my most representative of the electorate than by all means, and by the way, that also gives everyone every different state, uh, a chance to have the benefits and understand that this is what this fight is all about. The benefits of tourism and ad spending in that state that goes to local media outlets and, um, have it spread around so that everyone has a chance. I, I think that seems to be the most fair system. And given how that's the, that, that that's a fact. We're never gonna do it. Yeah. It's never gonna happen.
And, and it gets me too, you know, when the Democrats are doing their autopsy reports, whether they win or lose elections, it, it's usually like, well, how can we better reach the, the voters in Wisconsin? How can we better reach the voters in Michigan? Well, I don't know, maybe spend six months and 50 million walking around the state and knocking on doors, which is what you do in Iowa and you're never gonna win Iowa. So yes, Michigan is far more representative of what the, uh, country looks like. Wisconsin. It's overwhelmingly white, but it's still a swing state with a decent number of electoral college votes. And if we can't abolish that than, I guess we still gotta think about it, right? But Nevada's a good example. Hell even Georgia, North Carolina mm-hmm. So there are places where instead of looking back and saying, why didn't we reach these voters? It's because you just spent 12 months at the Iowa State Fair eating corn dogs with a bunch of people who would never vote for you in a general election. So I'm glad they are changing it, but, uh, it's still a swing and a miss to me.
Find Jeff Waldorf at Waldorf Nation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@WaldorfNation
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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.
One last thing I gotta ask you real quick. Sure. Uh, Democrats are gonna shuffle up the primary, uh, calendar, thank God. Um, but then they say, uh, let's do South Carolina. And it makes me wanna slam my head into the desk cuz I've been, I've been saying for many, many, many, many, many years. Start with a swing state. Start with the swing state because you spend millions of dollars. You spend six months to 12 months walking around the whole state. Do it in a place where you actually could sway the way the voters in that state vote. In the pri or the general. So, uh, let's say Jeff Walter, if you have unilateral authority to pick the first primary and or caucus state, and Jeff with his overall number one pick has picked what state?
I actually would not pick one state specifically. I would actually have a rolling, you see, you go to whichever swing state is most important, most representative of the average American vote, not Democrat, not Republican, but average American voter, I don't think it should be located in one state for eternity. I don't think that system makes sense. I don't think holding the first primary in Iowa made any sense whatsoever. And not, not, you know, uh, no res disrespect to the people of Iowa. Good
People.
But I, yeah, I just don't think it made sense to do it in places that are, again, not competitive when it comes to general elections. Um, and, and, and to keep it in one place because you know how demographics change, people will move. Some states will see an increase in populations, uh, other states will see a decrease in populations. Um, and, and, and you'll see changes in voting patterns. And so what I think the, the primaries need to do is to follow the states that are most representative of what a general election looks like. So you avoid the issue of, for example, putting it in, uh, California. Cuz that wouldn't make sense cuz that's, you know, overwhelmingly, you know, slant it to one side and it's not representative, whatever. But also putting it in, in, as I said, Iowa or Alabama or Florida, you know, if, if those states happen to be my most representative of the electorate than by all means, and by the way, that also gives everyone every different state, uh, a chance to have the benefits and understand that this is what this fight is all about. The benefits of tourism and ad spending in that state that goes to local media outlets and, um, have it spread around so that everyone has a chance. I, I think that seems to be the most fair system. And given how that's the, that, that that's a fact. We're never gonna do it. Yeah. It's never gonna happen.
And, and it gets me too, you know, when the Democrats are doing their autopsy reports, whether they win or lose elections, it, it's usually like, well, how can we better reach the, the voters in Wisconsin? How can we better reach the voters in Michigan? Well, I don't know, maybe spend six months and 50 million walking around the state and knocking on doors, which is what you do in Iowa and you're never gonna win Iowa. So yes, Michigan is far more representative of what the, uh, country looks like. Wisconsin. It's overwhelmingly white, but it's still a swing state with a decent number of electoral college votes. And if we can't abolish that than, I guess we still gotta think about it, right? But Nevada's a good example. Hell even Georgia, North Carolina mm-hmm. So there are places where instead of looking back and saying, why didn't we reach these voters? It's because you just spent 12 months at the Iowa State Fair eating corn dogs with a bunch of people who would never vote for you in a general election. So I'm glad they are changing it, but, uh, it's still a swing and a miss to me.
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