Nevada, one of the Democratic Party's official early nomination contest states is preparing to move its caucuses forward a week to Jan. 12.
The Nevada Democratic Party hasn't said anything official yet, but the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports on a "caucus update" e-mail sent to party supporters which says:
"Today, it appears that Nevada's interests and significance in the nominating process may be best served by holding our precinct caucuses on January 12th, 2008."
Jan. 12 is in keeping with the "consensus calendar" the Atlantic's Marc Arbinder reported last week. This calendar places the Iowa caucuses on Saturday, Jan. 5, and the New Hampshire primary on Jan. 8.
Until now, Nevada had been the forgotten partner in the leapfrog competition between the early states. The Democratic National Committee slated Nevada as the second contest, following Iowa, in the summer of 2006 amidst fierce competition from other states. In order to get that second slot, Nevada had to switch from a primary to a caucus, as New Hampshire kept its claim on the first primary.
As Iowa and New Hampshire are often criticized for a lack of diversity, Nevada was well positioned for the claim on an early contest as a small state with a large Hispanic population and labor movement. In any other year, New Mexico would have been a more likely contender, but it was out of the mix due to Gov. Bill Richardson's candidacy. The Richardson team is still hoping for a good showing in nearby Nevada.
Despite moving back a week, Nevada will likely slip a position in the batting order, from second to third. The Review-Journal reports that sources said Nevada Democrats are willing to be the third contest, instead of the second, but they don't want to be pushed any further back than that.
The South Carolina Republicans had already moved back to Nevada's original Jan. 19 date, and South Carolina Democrats are expected to do the same.
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