The Iowa Democratic Party’s state central committee this evening voted to move forward the date of their party’s precinct Caucuses to Thursday, January 3rd. That is the same date Iowa Republican Party leaders settled on earlier this month.
"It’s nice to have the unity and the consistency that we have for having the Caucuses on the same date with the Republicans," Iowa Democratic Party chairman Scott Brennan told Radio Iowa shortly after the decision was ratified.
Despite holding the Caucuses earlier than ever, Brennan said moving to that first week in January seemed the best response to keep Iowa’s Caucuses as the first contest in the presidential nomination season.
"Once things started moving, it became obvious that the 14th (of January) was probably untenable and we needed to find an alternate date," Brennan said. "The 3rd (of January) isn’t perfect, but of all the options, the 3rd worked out the best."
According to Brennan, many county leaders are "very nimble" and already had reserved locations for the precinct meetings on multiple dates.
Iowa’s 2008 Caucuses had originally been scheduled for Monday, January 14, but as other states moved the dates of their voting ahead, officials in Iowa’s two major political parties decided to move the date of the Caucuses up to retain Iowa’s first-in-the-nation status.
Holding the Caucuses in the month of January is nothing new, however. In 1976, the Caucuses were held on January 19th. Over a decade later, the 1988 Caucuses were held on February 8th.