Iowa Dems Will Caucus Jan. 3

Iowa Democrats voted yesterday to move their caucuses up from Jan. 14 to Jan. 3, following state Republicans who picked the date earlier this month in an effort to counter pressure from states trying to elbow in on their traditional early-primary status. Campaign officials welcomed the announcement, saying they “build backwards from the caucus date” in their planning.

New Hampshire, traditionally second, is still in play. The NH secretary of state has said only that the primary would be no later than Jan. 8; while states hesitate to hold primaries before the election year, it could still be moved as early as December 11. Michigan and Florida set the jockeying in motion when they broke party rules by moving their primaries ahead of February 5. (More presidential election stories.)