Nevada Democrats want to make state first stop of primary season
MULDER: I know. I was talking to David Nain, with the Nevada State Democratic Party, and he said they’re very disappointed in their performance in November. And they’re interested in having a state primary this year.
BROWN: The national party has called for a state contest to decide Democratic voters’ choice for president. The state party thinks that’s the path to success. In fact, it’s the very same path that Republicans took by bypassing Pennsylvania and going for the White House in 1980.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DAVID NAIN: What you had in Pennsylvania was a state party that was very successful. In Nevada, we had a state party that was very unsuccessful.
BROWN: The national party has long campaigned for a state-by-state primary system. But in a presidential race, there’s only so much the state parties can do.
MULDER: Right. And when you say state primary, you’re talking about a state’s own presidential primary. And that is a much, much different process than a presidential primary that’s going on in other states. You have, in other words, the presidential candidates who run in other states get a national or even a multi-state platform.
They don’t have to pay their own way. Because it’s a lot easier to get access with the national party to a national party’s resources in other states. But in the state presidential primary, you have to pay your own way. You have to, in other words, have a lot of money to get around the state party’s rules.
BROWN: And do you think it could work the way other states tried it?
MULDER: Well, in other words, I think if you compare it to the Pennsylvania system, I don’t think you could get a presidential nominee who wouldn’t have to raise a lot of money.
BROWN: What about the other side of that coin? It doesn’t mean there’s not a cost to a national presidential candidate.
MULDER: Oh, no. No. There
