The modern process for determining party nominees for president was established in the second half of the 20th century. Since this time, Iowa and New Hampshire have played a significant role in candidates’ campaign strategies and selecting the eventual nominees from each party. These early contests in Iowa and New Hampshire have been criticized for their oversized influence in this process and their lack of diversity.

This lesson explores the history of the modern system of primaries and caucuses, the reasons for this structure and various proposals to change the order of these contests.

This deliberation has students hear from journalists, experts and candidates in order to answer the question: Should the order of presidential primaries and caucuses be changed?

* This deliberation has also been modified to include an analysis of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) decision to change its primary and caucus schedule for the 2024 presidential election.

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Objectives and Outcomes

• Students will be able to identify the factors and events that led to the current system of nominating presidential candidates.
  
  
• Students will describe the current process in which parties select their nominees using primaries and caucuses.
  
  
• Students will evaluate the arguments for and against changing the current order of presidential primaries and caucuses.

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