<P> In the United States, Iowa and New Hampshire have drawn attention every four years because they hold the first caucus and primary election, respectively, and often give a candidate the momentum to win their party's nomination . </P> <P> A criticism of the current presidential primary election schedule is that it gives undue weight to the few states with early primaries, as those states often build momentum for leading candidates and rule out trailing candidates long before the rest of the country has even had a chance to weigh in, leaving the last states with virtually no actual input on the process . The counterargument to this criticism, however, is that, by subjecting candidates to the scrutiny of a few early states, the parties can weed out candidates who are unfit for office . </P> <P> The Democratic National Committee (DNC) proposed a new schedule and a new rule set for the 2008 Presidential primary elections . Among the changes: the primary election cycle would start nearly a year earlier than in previous cycles, states from the West and the South would be included in the earlier part of the schedule, and candidates who run in primary elections not held in accordance with the DNC's proposed schedule (as the DNC does not have any direct control over each state's official election schedules) would be penalized by being stripped of delegates won in offending states . The New York Times called the move, "the biggest shift in the way Democrats have nominated their presidential candidates in 30 years ." </P> <P> Of note regarding the DNC's proposed 2008 Presidential primary election schedule is that it contrasted with the Republican National Committee's (RNC) rules regarding Presidential primary elections . "No presidential primary, caucus, convention, or other meeting may be held for the purpose of voting for a presidential candidate and / or selecting delegates or alternate delegates to the national convention, prior to the first Tuesday of February in the year in which the national convention is held ." In 2020, this date is February 4 . </P>

N texas any party receiving of the gubernatorial vote in the prior election must hold a primary