Stacey Abrams said party officials should "revisit how Democrats launch our primary season" after a glitch-filled Iowa caucus delayed the release of results and infuriated White House hopefuls, activists and voters.
The former Georgia gubernatorial nominee proposed that multiple states hold Democratic primaries on the first day of voting in the 2024 election, though she didn't single out any states, and nodded to an overwhelmingly white electorate in Iowa that doesn't reflect the nation's demographics.
“The Iowa Caucus is a long and storied tradition, but traditions can and do change,” she said in a statement, adding that the initial contests must be “representative of the American people as a whole.”
“People of color have been loyal to the Democratic Party and deserve more of a voice in our nominating contests from the beginning,” she said. “We can accomplish this by allowing multiple states to hold primaries on the first day of voting.”
After her narrow defeat in 2018 to Gov. Brian Kemp, the Democrat has launched a national voting rights initiative that has raised nearly $20 million to promote ballot access. As her profile rises, she's frequently mentioned as a potential vice presidential nominee.
Abrams waded into the debate a day after a faulty app led to a lengthy delay of the release of the Iowa caucus results, sparking calls from national figures to scrap the first-in-the-nation caucus and shift to another state, perhaps Georgia, with a more diverse population.
“The Iowa Democratic Party has taken responsibility and corrective action, which is the first step to restoring trust,” said Abrams. “The next step is re-examining the caucus process.”
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