President Biden wanted to reshuffle the Democratic party’s presidential primary schedule, moving South Carolina to the front of the line, putting Georgia in the top four, and pushing the Iowa caucuses back significantly. At least one part of that plan is now kaput, as the president and the DNC cannot dictate schedules; state governments get a say in when they hold their elections. A few days ago, Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced his decision to hold the presidential primary on March 12, a date he contends puts his state “at the center of the national focus.”

A primary on March 12 will make Georgia the highest-profile contest on a day that also includes primaries in Idaho, Mississippi and Washington state — but, at least as the schedule stands, won’t put it anywhere near the key early primaries.

With an incumbent president running for reelection, the Democratic presidential primary isn’t likely to be all that competitive, no matter what Robert F. Kennedy and Marianne Williamson hope. (Then again, maybe a few more lousy polls like this weekend’s will make some Democratic governor contemplate throwing a hat into the ring at the last minute.) Among certain Democrats, there’s been a desire to shake up the early schedule, in part because of Iowa’s embarrassing failure to count the votes in a timely manner in 2020 and in part because of the perception that Iowa and New Hampshire are “too white.” (I notice Biden hasn’t had much success in Iowa and New Hampshire over the years, and probably doesn’t have many fond memories of campaigning in those states.)

Right now, the tentative – emphasis on tentative — schedule for Democrats is New Hampshire (state law requires it to go first, no matter what other states do) at some point before February 3, probably January 23 or 30; South Carolina on February 3, Nevada on February 6, and then a Super Tuesday on March 5, with Alabama, Arkansas, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Virginia. Stay tuned.