DFL joins tsunami, will move its caucus to Feb. 5, too

The Minnesota DFL Party announced Tuesday that it will hold its precinct caucuses on Feb. 5, 2008, a date that has become known variously as Super Tuesday, Super Duper Tuesday and even Tsunami Tuesday, because of the import it is expected to have on the outcome of the presidential election.

On or before Feb. 5, dozens of states will hold primaries or caucuses that will powerfully influence, and perhaps decide, who the nominees will be.

The DFL's move is expected to greatly increase grass-roots participation, and is also intended to draw new participants into the political process, party leaders said.

State DFL and Republican Party chairmen agreed in June to propose the move to their parties' leaders in an effort to make Minnesota's caucuses more relevant in a speeded-up presidential election year. The GOP finalized its decision earlier.

The state's major political parties have held their caucuses on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March since 1991. The date next year would have been March 4.

"Earlier caucuses will give Minnesotans a greater say in who will be the next president of the United States, and will hopefully engage more Minnesotans in grass-roots politics," said Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez.

Minnesota has long been a backwater in the nominating process, its caucuses coming too late to matter much. The irrelevance threatens to be even more pronounced during this cycle, as states scramble to front-load the primary and caucus calender as never before.

Following Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses Jan. 14, contests will be held in quick succession in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada and Florida. Then, on Feb. 5 comes the deluge, with dozens of states holding contests, including powerhouses New York and California.

A mad scramble continues among states trying to leapfrog ahead of the pack. On Saturday, the Democratic National Committee stripped Florida of its national convention delegates because it had moved its primary to Jan. 29, against party rules. There's no indication Florida Democrats will back off.

That move followed the Michigan state Senate's decision last week to move its presidential contests to Jan. 15, a move that set off predictions that the traditional kickoff states, New Hampshire and Iowa, will do whatever it takes to remain first in the nation -- even if that means moving into the final weeks of 2007.

The Minnesota caucuses, particularly during a presidential election year, serve as a valuable recruiting tool for both major political parties in the state. It allows them to identify potential new members and fire up rank-and-filers for the long campaign season. It also is the first step in selecting delegates to the state and national conventions. When the presidential selection remains up in the air at the time of the caucus, such as in 2000 and 1988, party leaders say they have seen upwards of three times the participation in the caucuses.

"The Minnesota voice will be amplified in the presidential nomination process," said Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey. "My concern is that if we went to the traditional date in March it would be all but done at that point in time. At least we're going to have our voice be heard when the nomination is still in question."

Both parties will conduct presidential preference straw polls and those attending the caucuses will be free to leave after voting. The DFL preference poll will be binding, meaning it will determine the proportionate number of delegates each Democratic presidential candidate receives. The Republican voting will not be binding.

Staff writer Bob von Sternberg contributed to this report. Mark Brunswick • 651-222-1636