Breaking with tradition

The Iowa caucuses, both Republican and Democratic, have long been the earliest held in the United States. But the dwindling number of blue counties in the Hawkeye State now have Democrats looking elsewhere. On Oct. 6, Iowa Democrats conceded to new Democratic National Committee rules that now slot the South Carolina primary as the first contest in the nation to nominate the party’s presidential candidate.

Last December, President Joe Biden called for early-voting states to reflect more economic and demographic “diversity.” South Carolina is not necessarily a blue stronghold—Republicans have enjoyed trifecta control in the state for 21 years—but Democrats are playing a long game in an attempt to flip the state. In Georgia, Republicans in the Legislature blocked constitutional changes that would have allowed Democrats there to schedule their primary as first instead.

Iowa law requires both parties to hold a caucus by the last Monday of February, and Democrats in the state have been first in their convention since 1972. But technical issues and counting errors in 2020 embarrassed the party when it could not confirm a nominee for several days. Biden also complained that the caucus system is too slow for working voters: It’s a late-night meeting that involves a series of secret and public votes and determines state party business.

Under the new rules, Iowans will still boast the first-in-the-nation caucus and hold precinct caucuses the same night as Republicans. But the Democrats will only consider party business and state races that night. They will vote by mail for the presidential primary and report the results on March 5, well after South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Michigan.

Since Biden is the presumptive nominee, this year’s Democratic caucus order is largely unimportant. But the calendar change will influence where presidential candidates campaign four years from now.

Cliff Owen/AP

Sanctions on fentanyl

The Biden administration in October leveled sanctions and criminal charges against several Chinese companies and executives for their alleged roles manufacturing and distributing chemical ingredients for fentanyl, currently ranked as the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49. The sanctions froze the U.S. assets of 28 business leaders and companies, mostly in China but also a few in Canada. Much U.S.-bound fentanyl is trafficked across the border from Mexico, but American officials have tracked nearly all the precursor chemicals in Mexico’s stockpile to China. —C.L.