None of that changes the larger point: Democrats are at least willing to have an honest debate. Republicans are not.

That should embarrass every member of the RNC.

The RNC consists of three members from each of the 56 state and territory parties. Iowa and New Hampshire collectively control just six votes. Even if Nevada and South Carolina — the other beneficiaries of privileged calendar positions — are included, 156 members are content with surrendering their influence over the single most important decision the party makes every four years.

This is not an argument against Iowa or New Hampshire. Both states have informed voters who reward candidates willing to answer difficult questions in town halls, diners, and living rooms. But they should not enjoy a perpetual monopoly.

Every state should have the opportunity to make the case for going first. If Iowa and New Hampshire are truly the best proving ground, let them win that argument rather than having it guaranteed.

The stakes extend far beyond intra-party influence.

Early primaries and caucuses generate significant economic activity. Campaigns spend millions of dollars just on television, radio, and digital advertising. Then there are the hotels, rental cars, restaurants, event venues, printing costs, consultants, payroll, and countless local vendors. Even the local post offices see a boom in the sales of stamps.

So why are so many states willing to be irrelevant?

I have seen the system from the inside. Last cycle, I administered the third-in-the-nation Republican contest: the Virgin Islands caucus on Feb. 8, 2024.

The territory took on Nevada, which effectively rigged the process by abandoning its free and fair state-run primary in favor of a corrupted party-controlled caucus, and South Carolina. Neither was pleased that some islands in the West Indies had disrupted the established order.

For Virgin Islanders, however, the caucus was more than symbolic. Like residents of the other four territories, they can’t vote in the general election. The nomination process is their one opportunity to have a say.

Instead of celebrating broader participation, the RNC tried to make the Virgin Islands pay a price for refusing to stay in its assigned place. Yet the 2024 Republican calendar enjoyed no real legitimacy because it was never created through a fair, transparent process in which every state and territory had an equal opportunity to make the case for an early slot.

Ironically, the candidates themselves didn’t object.

President Donald Trump and his rivals filed to compete. Although none visited in person, they appeared repeatedly by Zoom, while members of Congress and other surrogates campaigned across St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John.

Nineteen years ago, Rep. Debbie Dingell, then a Michigan member of the DNC, and then-Michigan Republican Party chairman Saul Anuzis proposed a bipartisan solution: rotating regional primaries determined by lottery. Every region would eventually go first. Every state would get its turn.

It was a good idea then. It remains a good idea today.

Instead, the parties have gone their separate ways, each adopting different calendars and creating conflicts with state election laws while imposing unnecessary burdens on election officials.

The DNC’s proposed 2028 calendar illustrates the problem. South Carolina’s ruling Republicans may have little interest in spending taxpayer dollars on two presidential primaries only weeks apart. Meanwhile, Michigan Republicans would almost certainly need a waiver from the RNC to avoid sanctions for participating in a state-run primary that precedes Iowa and New Hampshire.

State parties could, of course, opt out of state-run primaries and conduct their own caucuses or conventions. But many don’t have the money, infrastructure, or organizational competence to administer a credible statewide alternative.

The window for reform is closing fast.

The first serious 2028 contenders will almost certainly announce their candidacies shortly after November’s midterm elections. Once candidates enter the race, every debate over the rules becomes vulnerable to accusations that campaigns are working the refs to tilt the playing field.

DEMOCRATS’ ‘BIG TENT’ HAS A HOLE IN IT. WILL IT COLLAPSE THE PARTY?

Like any other game, the rules should be settled before the opening whistle.

The leaders of both parties should get together, close the door, and negotiate a single calendar that rotates the opening contests.

Dennis Lennox is a political commentator and public affairs consultant. Follow @dennislennox on X.