By Catharine Richert and Kathleen Hunter, CQ Staff

With a tumultuous primary season coming to a close, Senate Democrats are already contemplating major changes to the way they pick their presidential nominees.

The Senate Rules and Administration Committee will soon hold hearings on the issue, said staff director Howard Gantman, and Majority Leader Harry Reid wants to revamp the primary and delegate system first thing next year.

“The present system is very difficult,” Reid, D-Nev., said this week.

Up for debate will be the order of primaries and the utility of the current caucus and delegate process. And with at least two bills floating in the Senate meant to iron out kinks in the process, Rules Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein , D-Calif., will have plenty to assess.

Some lawmakers hope the protracted process of picking a nominee will boost a bill (S 1905) that would establish a rotating regional primary system beginning in 2012, a measure that Feinstein is cosponsoring along with Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar and GOP Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, among others.

With that bill drawing criticism from both the Democratic and Republican campaign committees, Rules panel members also will debate a measure (S 2024) by Democrats Bill Nelson of Florida and Carl Levin of Michigan that would require six presidential primary dates, with each contest featuring at least one state from each of six different geographic regions. The order of states within each region would rotate every four years.

Both Florida and Michigan Democratic delegates will only be able to cast half a vote at the Denver convention after the Democratic National Committee stripped both states of full voting rights.

For his part, Nelson said his measure would make sure that the largest states, like his, would always get their say at the convention.

“As to our right to vote, and have that vote count, there can be no debate,” he said.