To the best of my knowledge, there is no federal law that mandates the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary are the first two elections in the presidential season. There are state laws in IA and NH that they have to be first, but those are selfish and absurd and apply to no one except themselves. With so many relatively inconsequential states holding increasingly early primaries, it was no wonder that Fla and Mich felt left out of the selection process. Ideally, we would return to a day when a big state like California could hold a June primary without the nominee already being determined. Unfortunately, the opposite is occurring. These clowns begin running for president the day after the previous election. Obama was running for president before he set foot in the Senate. Clinton's been running forever, and McCain since the 2000 SC primary. You have candidates announce, raise money, campaign, and drop out more than a year before the election, all based of polls before a single vote is cast. Is it the politicians' fault or the press or the great unwashed? Who knows?

Re the power of the parties vis a vis the states, it is convoluted. The states determine how delegates are chosen and, for the most part, when. However, the parties determine whether the delegates are accredited and seated. History of replete with example of competing delegates from the same state, some being seated by the party, some rejected.