A recent piece from FiveThirtyEight on [an imaginary primary calendar][pr] for the Democrats got me thinking. There really is no good reason to continue letting Iowa and New Hampshire dictate so much about U.S. elections. Candidates who would otherwise be viable are forced out because of poor showings in these unrepresentative states. And candidates who might otherwise sink are buoyed by winning one of these states.
There is simply no reason for this. Every state should be offered a chance to help with the winnowing of candidates. And yet a national primary day would hurt more than it would help.