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Why the 50-State Primary Was Good for Democrats

Ed-Espinoza.jpg By Edward Espinoza
Member, Democratic National Committee

Now that the marathon Democratic nominating process has concluded, there are varying opinions on whether or not this prolonged calendar was good for the Party.

Some say the protracted struggle between Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has been hurtful, other say that the longer calendar has taken attention away from the Democrats and helped place Republican presumptive nominee John McCain in a favorable light.

Though one could also claim that longer calendar has made presumptive nominee Barack Obama stronger for the fall campaign, or that the extended elections have given Democrats more attention.

Going back to the first nominating contests when candidates such as former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson still graced the stage, the process has generated more than 20 issue forums and debates, has helped make Barack Obama battle-tested for the fall and ultimately brought the Democratic message to voters all over America.

Ultimately, the 50-state primary has been one of the best things to happen in presidential nominating politics in a generation.

I have had the unique opportunity to see the primary process unfold in seven states this year. As such, I can attest to the notion that there is some voter fatigue in states which voted prior to April.

However, I can also attest to the enthusiasm of voters residing in all of the states leading up to their respective elections - particularly those with later primaries, eagerly awaiting the elections and participating in record numbers. While working with a presidential candidate in Iowa last January, I saw a caucus room overflow and double turnout from 2004. And while working with a gubernatorial candidate in North Carolina, I did not meet one single voter who was exasperated by the fact that the presidential primary was still going on in May.

Let’s look at the ways the 50-state primary has energized voters all across the nation:

More than 35 million voters have participated and voted for Democratic presidential candidates since January 3rd. More votes have been cast during this primary season than in any other in history. In the span of only five months, Democrats have built organizations in states which haven't seen a Democratic presidential candidate in what seems like a lifetime; places like Idaho, Mississippi and South Dakota.

Democrats have started building relationships with rural America. The 50-state primary has helped bring the Democratic message to rural communities all over the country. State like Pennsylvania, which normally see candidates visit big cities, saw candidates go to small towns and rural communities. Candidates visited places which are usually referred to as "fly-over areas," spending time in places like Northern Nevada, rural Kansas, Western Kentucky and Eastern North Carolina.

Iowa and New Hampshire did not pick the nominee. Voters in states outside of Iowa and New Hampshire have made it clear that they want a say in the presidential nomination, and that early primary states have too much of a monopoly on the process. Some argue that Senator John Kerry won the 2004 Democratic nomination simply because he won Iowa. And when one looks at the momentum he gained after that Iowa win - and how quickly other candidates faded after that - it's easy to agree that the early states have an unfair advantage in producing a nominee. But this year the nominee was not determined until nominating contests from those two states were a distant memory.

More states than ever have had a say in the nomination. Exactly five months will have passed from the time the first caucus began in Iowa through the time the final poll closed in Montana on June 3rd. And for perhaps the first time ever, all 50 states and even the territories have ultimately made their mark on the process. This is the way Americans want it to be, and it’s arguably the way that it should be.

Normally, such feats would take years to accomplish. And yet in just five months, the country has seen 35 million energized voters and the building of relationships with communities in all 50 states.

The journey to reach these milestones has not been easy, but in the end it makes for a stronger Democratic Party and an electorate which is more engaged in the political process.

Edward Espinoza is a political and public relations consultant based in Southern California and Washington, DC. He represents California on the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He previously served as a field director to 2008 presidential candidate Bill Richardson and as staff to the Clinton/Gore re-election campaign, the re-elections of Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, the election of members of Congress from California, and provided strategic counsel for issue and independent expenditure campaigns in Florida, Oregon and South Dakota. He has also served as a field deputy to California Senator Gloria Romero.

Posted on June 12, 2008

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