Why Is The Election Season So Long?

[MarkD]

The date of the November general election is always "fixed," but the start of the primary campaign season is not.

Over the last four or five decades, the "start" of the primary campaign season has been moved to earlier in the year owing to the desire of the states to compete with one another to move it earlier. Iowa always wants to have the first caucus and New Hampsire wants to have the first primary. But many states have been moving their own primary date to earlier in the year than it had been "last time" because they want their state to be "relevant" to the picking of the nominee.

I've been saying for years that, in order to have a rational campaign season, we need to adopt a constitutional amendment that prohibits any state from holding a presidential caucus or primary earlier than April 1. Then allow only the smallest states - with just three or four electional college votes - to hold caucuses or primaries in April. Then have the medium-sized states hold them during May. Make the largest states wait until June to hold a caucus or primary.