WASHINGTON — Michigan is bound for the second round of the Democratic National Committee's process for deciding which states will be among the first to vote for the party's 2024 presidential nominee.
After applying this month, Michigan Democrats were invited Saturday to deliver their pitch later this month in a presentation to national party leaders on the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee.
That panel is supposed to recommend a reshuffled early-state lineup to the full DNC in early August.
The two "Debbies" in Michigan's congressional delegation are leading the state's effort — U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn. The coalition of boosters include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a DNC vice chair; Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist; Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan; labor unions; and sports teams, according to Dingell.
"It’s all hands on deck. Everybody is engaged in this," said Dingell, who previously led similar efforts with U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. "We're going to make sure that they get a flavor of all aspects of Michigan."
Over the next two weeks, the coalition is launching a public-facing campaign in support of the effort to highlight the battleground state's people, diversity and economy, said Andrew Feldman, a spokesman for the coalition. Dingell promised "pizazz."
"You can expect to see some multimedia efforts on this and videos rolling out, and we really want to get across that Michigan is the place that picks the president, and Michigan really makes up and makes America," Feldman said.
The Debbies argue that Michigan is more diverse and reflective of the country at large than Iowa and New Hampshire, which have led off the presidential nominating calendar for decades. In addition to racial and cultural diversity, Michigan has both industrial urban centers with manufacturing and more rural agricultural areas than many other states, they said.
"We are the folks that make things and grow things, innovate and build things, and that really is the core of the country's economy," Stabenow said.
Michigan's going earlier in the primary calendar would ensure more early attention and ad spending from candidates and the media and likely greater influence in who is picked as the eventual nominee. The early spot also would be an economic boon for the state with thousands of campaign staff, members of the press and others coming to town for months ahead of the primary, Dingell said.
"Not just that but it will also showcase our state for the country. Most of us know more about Iowa and New Hampshire than we ever thought we would because of what happens in Iowa and New Hampshire at the beginning of the presidential primary season," Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes said.
"Imagine all of that attention on Michigan early. Imagine all of that attention on people who look like America, happening at the early part of this campaign rather than later on after some people have already dropped out."
The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee has said it wants no more than five states to schedule their primaries or caucuses before the first Tuesday in March, the traditional date for "Super Tuesday" in the presidential primaries when multiple states hold primaries.
About 20 states applied earlier this month to be considered for one of the coveted early spots, with the Detroit-based communications firm Truscott Rossman retained to draft Michigan's proposal, insiders said.
It's unclear how many of those states will be invited to make a presentation to the DNC panel June 22-24, but Stabenow and Dingell both said Minnesota is among the contenders.
Within the Midwest, Michigan also is facing competition from Illinois, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Iowa, whose fumbled caucus process upset Democratic leaders in 2020.
Michigan's 2020 primary took place March 10, about five weeks after Iowa's caucuses and four weeks after New Hampshire's primary — and a week after Super Tuesday.
Among the criteria that the DNC panel has signaled it is looking at are diversity, union representation, the feasibility of moving a state's primary into the early window and competitiveness in the general election. It's also looking to pick states from different regions of the country.
"We believe that we need a Midwest state (to go early) because it always comes down to the Midwest who's ultimately going to be president," Dingell told The Detroit News.
And battleground Michigan and its 16 electoral votes are frequently in play, as evidenced in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
"When candidates are required to campaign in a state, they have to learn about the issues people care about in that state," Stabenow said. "When you campaign in Michigan it gives you the opportunity to really speak to the broadest possible group of folks that you're going to then need to win in a general election."
It's notable Michigan voters don't register by party affiliation, meaning voters may decide which primary to participate in, giving Republicans an opportunity to affect a close Democratic race, or vice versa.
"I don't see that as an issue," Stabenow told The News.
In Michigan, Democrats including Dingell have acknowledged they'd have to work with the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass a bill to set a new primary date for 2024.
"Appropriate discussions are being had," Dingell said, declining to elaborate.
Barnes was confident such a deal could be reached if Michigan snags an early primary spot.
"We expect that as we move forward there'll be more and more people who will be helping us lean in to make sure that we can get this done," she said. "Step one, of course, is that the DNC will need to ask us to get it done. But once we get to that point, we're going to do whatever it takes."
Barnes said the party is not considering adopting a caucus system instead of a state-run primary election.
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