Is it fair that Iowa and New Hampshire always get to have their primaries first? It does emphasize direct exposure to candidates over fund-raising ability. But if we keep choosing the same states in the same order, year after year, certain issues like corn-based ethanol will receive favoritism they don't deserve, and certain demographics, such as African-Americans and the poor, will be continually under-represented.
This sense of unfairness had led to "front-loading," as more and more states push their primaries and caucuses earlier into the calendar year. Some states have scheduled their primaries so early on that the results cannot be counted in the national party conventions in late August or early September, and other states are even discussing moving their primaries to the previous year. While this may be somewhat helpful to early frontrunners in a Presidential race, it means that Presidential campaigns are more expensive and more about the money, and they are also more exhausting to candidates and electorate alike.
We need to fix our Presidential primary system (more below the fold).
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