Washington Democrats aim to move up 2024 presidential primary

Washington state's Democratic Party officials are going to make the case this week to move up the state's presidential primary in 2024. The Democratic National Committee is behind the effort and is part of a push involving 16 other states.

Washington Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski says Washington is an ideal candidate for this change because our vote base is more diverse than other states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire which hold earlier primaries.

“We have an Asian-Pacific Islander community of over 800,000 people, spanning 21 different ethnicities," Podlodowski said. "Washington also has 29 federally-recognized tribes. And then finally, we are number one in terms of the number of union members of any state applying for an early primary.”

National party leaders are expected to announce their decision by Labor Day.

This is not the first time a primary has been moved in Washington. In 2020, state Democrats moved their presidential primary up to March, instead of June.

If the change is approved for the 2024 race, Podlodowski says it probably wouldn't be permanent because national leaders are thinking about rotating which states get those topline presidential primaries.