Minnesota Democrats to bid for early primary in next presidential race

Minnesota Democrats will make a move to host an early primary in the next presidential election, joining a handful of states vying to jump the line and gain more sway in future races for the White House.

"We have full support from all our elected officials and we look forward to being a part of the conversation," Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin said in an interview with POLITICO. The state party will be submitting a letter of intent as part of the Democratic National Committee's new process to reorder its primary calendar, Martin said.

Martin noted that the state is "ambivalent" about what spot in the order Minnesota might appear in, but "we definitely want to move into that window," he added.

Members of the DNC voted earlier this month to open up the primary calendar, upending the current order with Iowa and New Hampshire leading off. The decision has set off a scramble among state party leaders to consider applying for one of the slots, an influential perch that guarantees outsize spending and attention from national candidates and the press.

The DNC wants to maintain regional diversity in its early-state primary lineup, and Minnesota is likely to compete for a slot reserved for a Midwestern state, currently occupied by Iowa. But Iowa, which has come under harsh criticism for its handling of the 2020 Democratic caucuses and its lack of racial diversity, has a more difficult case to make to maintain its first-in-the-nation status.

Another Midwestern state eyeing the early window is Michigan, where state Democrats have also indicated they are interested in moving up in the calendar.