Don't Like the Idea of Iowa Christmas Caucuses? How About Thanksgiving?

If you don't like the idea of Christmas Caucuses in Iowa, consider this: A vote right about Thanksgiving isn't out of the question.

In fact, late November caucuses in Iowa became a distinct possibility with statements out of New Hampshire that the state could move its primary date to December to protect its first-in-the-nation primary status.

Here's some reporting by Dan Tuohy from our Patches in New Hampshire:

New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner issued a lengthy statement early this evening to say that he may have no choice but to set the first-in-the-nation primary in December. He says Dec. 13 and Dec. 6 are "realistic options."

Here's an excerpt:

"With Florida moving its primary earlier than originally planned to January 31st, and South Carolina making a move to set its primary ten days earlier to January 21st, that began to limit options for setting our date in January. When officials in Nevada set their caucus for Saturday, January 14th, that left Tuesday, January 3rd as a possibility for us, but Iowa officials tentatively decided that their caucus would be on that day.

My job as NH Secretary of State is to follow our law, which mandates that I set our election 7 days or more before any event that would threaten our traditional lead- off status. So if Nevada does not adjust its caucus date to a later time, I cannot rule out the possibility of a December primary.

We cannot allow the political process to squeeze us into a date that wedges us by just a few days between two major caucus states. Our primary will have little meaning if states crowd into holding their events just hours after our polls have closed.

The date of our primary is decided by state law, not by the rules or desires of political parties. Since Nevada’s caucus is similar in the eyes of our statute, it means the New Hampshire primary can be set no later than Saturday, January 7th."