WASHINGTON _ The 2018 midterm elections are finally wrapping up, but in the states that traditionally kick off the presidential primary process, it might as well be 2020 already.
Prospective Democratic presidential candidates are making congratulatory calls to 2018 victors in early-voting states such as Iowa and New Hampshire _ and to their staffs. They are sending out personalized thank you notes to local power brokers and attendees who showed up at their midterm political events. The hunt for operatives with strong early-state connections is underway.
As the attention in the first-in-the-nation presidential primary and caucus states shifts to the coming 2020 campaign, here's how the 2018 cycle sets up the next one, according to more than a dozen top Democratic operatives from Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
