Primacy Among Primaries

In any case, it's unclear that anything can be done. It might even raise constitutional problems if Congress argued that it had power to regulate the primary schedules of ostensibly "private" political parties. And, clearly, the national parties themselves do not have the power to act, which would mean, among other things, cracking down on New Hampshire's obsession with keeping its privileged position regardless of "desert." So, once again, structures are central to outcomes.