Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sided with his home state Tuesday, saying he supports moving the state’s caucus to January 14.
Mr. Reid is reportedly endorsing Nevada’s jump ahead in the Republican presidential nominating calendar, telling the state of New Hampshire to
Reid aide told The Associated Press Tuesday that Nevada Democrats will also move their caucus date to Jan. 14 in solidarity with Nevada Republicans, and state Democratic chairwoman Roberta Lange confirmed the change in date.
The debate over the date of the Nevada caucus comes just twenty-four hours after Iowa officials announced the state would hold the first-in-the-nation caucus on January 3. New Hampshire lawmakers have urged Nevada to move its caucus to a later date, citing a state law that requires New Hampshire to hold the nation’s first primary.
Nevada, which has backed the winning candidate in every election stretching back to 1976, is one of a handful of battleground states that could decide next year’s election.
The debate over the date for the Nevada caucus has already received criticism from a number of Republican presidential candidates, including former Utah governor Jon Huntsman. Mr. Huntsman, who is struggling to gain support in recent polls, announced earlier this month that he would boycott the Nevada caucus. Republican presidential candidates are expected to travel to Las Vegas on Tuesday as part of GOP debate hosted by CNN.
