NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Tennessee would be the first state in the nation to hold a presidential primary, freeing it from having to compete for attention on Super Tuesday, under a new bill.
Democratic state lawmakers touted the need for the change on Tuesday, arguing that the Volunteer State has a more diverse voter base than Iowa and New Hampshire – the first two states to kick off the presidential primaries every four years.
“We feel very strongly that Tennessee in many ways would better represent the nation as a whole demographically, and for other reasons would be an ideal place to hold the first primary in the country,” said state Rep. Jason Powell, a Democrat from Nashville.
According to the legislation, Tennessee’s presidential primary would become the first in the nation by moving it from March 3 to Jan. 2, bypassing high-profile early voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.
Scrutiny over which state gets to host its presidential primary first has increased during the 2020 election as the Democratic Party’s once robustly diverse field of potential challengers to Republican President Donald Trump has dwindled to four white front-runners.