White House Sparks Primary Firestorm by Pushing South Carolina for Top Spot

President Joe Biden is recommending that South Carolina, the state that lifted him to frontrunner status in the 2020 primary, kickoff the 2024 presidential nominating contest for Democrats, according to a top Democratic source familiar with the plan.

In doing so, he has set off a frenzied scramble among competing early states that are apoplectic over the move.

The proposed order would do away with the Iowa caucuses leading things off. Instead, South Carolina would go first, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada on the same day, trailed by Georgia and then Michigan, according to two senior party officials.

After Democrats overperformed against expectations in the 2022 midterms, President Joe Biden said Wednesday that his intention is to announce a bid for reelection. “Jill and I… our intention is to run again. That’s been our intention, regardless of what the outcome of this election was,” Biden said. “But I’m a great respecter of fate and ultimately this is a family decision.”

For more on this story, go to NBC News.