Washington DC.- The DC City Council is expected to pass a Sense of the Council resolution today in support of an early 2008 Democratic Primary for the city of Washington. Were the DNC to act on the proposal, Washington DC would take its place immediately after Iowa or New Hampshire in the opening days of the presidential nomination window.
FairVote recently released the report, "Outside Looking In: How Shutting Washington DC out of the Presidential Primary Process Hurts Black and Urban America." The report details how the potential DNC move would be of major importance not just for Washington, but for black and urban voters across the country. Those two demographics are among the Democrats' most loyal constituencies, and moving them to the forefront of the nomination process would almost certainly change the political landscape for 2008 and beyond.
The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee made the decision last month to establish one new primary and one new caucus in the early primary window traditionally dominated by New Hampshire and Iowa, and will make their final decision on July 23. Several states and the District have applied for the two new slots.
Read the report, Outside Looking In here. Read FairVote's recent Washington Post commentary here.
Executive Director Rob Richie, and Research Fellow Ryan Griffin are available for comment. Contact Communications Director Ryan O'Donnell at ryan@fairvote.org, or 301-270-4616.
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Ryan O'Donnell is Communications Director for FairVote - The Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonprofit, nonpartisan election reform group in Washington DC.
