Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggested that his home state of Nevada be the first state to hold a caucus election in 2024 after the “embarrassment” that took place in Iowa.
Reid told Vice on Wednesday that Iowa “forfeited its chance to be number one” after the reporting app failed on caucus night last week, leaving many to doubt the legitimacy of the results. The former top Democrat said he doesn’t believe Iowa will kick off the next election cycle and suggested that Nevada be given that responsibility instead.
“Since the debacle in Iowa, [pundits] have been talking about Nevada should be the first state. Why? Because we’re a state that’s heavily diverse,” the former Nevada senator said. “It’s really a state that represents what the country is all about. So I think that Iowa really was an embarrassment to everybody.”
Following the botched results in Iowa, New Hampshire led a smooth primary on Tuesday night. While Sen. Bernie Sanders won the popular vote in both contests, Pete Buttigieg took home a razor-thin victory in Iowa with the delegate count. The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor came in second in New Hampshire, however, while Sanders snagged the win. Joe Biden, who was at one point a front-runner in the race, placed fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire.
The former senator noted that he “thinks the world” of Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and hoped that donors would not hold the Iowa caucuses against the party as they continue to try to raise money for the 2020 campaigns.
Reid has been critical of the candidates running for president, especially Sanders. He ripped the Vermont senator for supporting the decriminalization of illegal border crossings and “Medicare for All.”
Many have been skeptical of how Nevada will handle its caucuses on Feb. 22. The state was slated to use an app developed by the same firm responsible for the botched reporting in Iowa but has since announced it would not use the product. Reid represented Nevada for 30 years in the U.S. Senate.
