Rumors of the date of the Iowa caucuses being moved up continue to circulate, following a handful of states’ decisions to move up their primaries.

By law, the Iowa caucuses have to fall eight days before the New Hampshire primaries – the earliest in the nation. However, states such as South Carolina, Florida and Michigan have decided to move their primaries earlier than usual, causing New Hampshire to move their primary date up.

If New Hampshire does move its primary up, the Iowa caucuses would have to accommodate the move to ensure that the separation of eight days remains.

These developments have caused some concern over the date of the caucuses.

Dennis Goldford, professor of politics and international relations at Drake University, said the Iowa caucuses are usually held on a Monday evening. The current date of the Iowa caucus is Jan. 14, 2008. However, if the caucuses are moved up too far, they could fall on New Year’s Day or Christmas, which would cause problems for caucus-goers.

Goldford said Gov. Chet Culver has said the law would be changed before the caucuses would be held in December.

Goldford said he believed holding the caucuses a month earlier could hurt some candidates who haven’t quite broken through and become popular contenders. Iowa appearances and debates set for late December and early January would be canceled, leaving less time for these candidates to emerge.

While Goldford said the “top three” Democratic candidates – Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. – would not struggle or have a problems accommodating the date change, he thinks other candidates would have to push harder and quicker to make their names known.

Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, said he believes the Iowa caucus is falling apart this year.

“The only thing that makes the Iowa caucuses important is the fact that it is the first in the country,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt said he believes with all the controversy over primary dates, the Iowa caucus will lose its significance and become much less successful in the future.

The question of what to do about the caucus dates, as well as how to make the primaries run smoother and more fairly, is now at hand. Schmidt said he thinks the Iowa caucuses, and possibly the entire primaries process, will have to be reviewed and changed after this year.

Schmidt said the country may switch to regional primaries, which would group states into large sections, with the primaries in a given section taking place simultaneously. Each year, the sections would be rotated to determine which primaries are held first. Other ideas include a national primary day or even an Internet primary.