This is a move that many Nebraska Democrats have discussed for a while, since Vince Powers presented the idea to us in June, but now there is something concrete moving forward. Steve Lathrop introduced LB 460, to allow political parties to hold a Presidential caucus to elect delegates to the national convention. The caucus would be held on February 9, the second Saturday in February.

The Omaha World-Herald has more:

State Sen. Steve Lathrop wants Nebraska to host Iowa-style caucuses next year on Feb. 9 - about four weeks after Iowa’s first-in-the-nation precinct caucuses and 2¹/₂ weeks after the New Hampshire primary.

The idea is for Nebraska to grab some of the presidential campaign spotlight before the state’s May primary election, by which time the nation’s two major political parties typically have chosen their nominees.

“It has the potential to bring candidates into Nebraska. It’s certainly better than where we’re at right now,” said Lathrop, who introduced Legislative Bill 460 on Tuesday.

Lathrop has his work cut out for him. A similar bill failed to come up for a vote last year after making it through committee. And even if Nebraska embraced an earlier caucus system, there is no guarantee the state would get attention from candidates.

The proposed Nebraska caucuses would fall after Iowa, New Hampshire and Super Tuesday, when about 10 states are expected to hold their presidential primaries.

I’m definitely on the side of Lathrop’s argument here, as I, for one, am sick of having no voice in the process. But there is another side to the argument that doesn’t get any play in the article. The World-Herald focuses mostly on the potential impact on Nebraska - namely whether anyone would come to the state. I don’t think that is much of an issue, however - it’d be easy enough to make a stop in Nebraska while in Iowa, or divert a few resources. Whether any candidate would bother for the small amount of delegates Nebraska would provide, is another question. The importance of Nebraska as a state would probably be greater than the impact of its delegate count. The real question is whether or not the state party could organize a caucus on this scale.

Of course, this is all moot unless the bill actually passes. But it’s certainly a subject worth our attention and debate.