South Carolina is on the verge of becoming the first stop on the 2028 Democratic nominating calendar, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire.
South Carolina secured the opening Jan. 22 slot on the preliminary primary calendar with 26 votes Friday from the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee. Nevada received 19 votes, and New Hampshire, which has a state law mandating it hold the first presidential primary, picked up four votes.
The panel also signed off on recommending the next five contests ahead of Super Tuesday: Nevada on Feb. 1, New Hampshire on Feb. 8, New Mexico on Feb. 15, Michigan on Feb. 22 and Virginia on Feb. 29.
The early states will once again wield outsize influence, helping shape the field, set the tone and define the issues that will dominate the race to choose a nominee to run as President Trump’s successor.
The full Democratic National Committee will vote on the proposed calendar next month.
Democrats have been seeking to remake the calendar to better reflect the racial and geographic diversity of its coalition. The proposed map shifts power away from Iowa and, to a lesser extent, to New Hampshire, which for decades was given the privilege of getting the first crack at White House hopefuls.
But those states are primarily White, and members argued that the party’s nomination should start in states with more of the Black and Brown voters that, many in the party say, form its backbone.
South Carolina was thought to have the upper hand in the battle after helping revive Joe Biden’s presidential bid in the 2020 primary. Mr. Biden returned the favor by pushing South Carolina to be the first primary state in what proved to be a messy 2024 primary season.
“The South is not the past — it is the future,” Christale Spain, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, told colleagues before the vote. “If we are serious about changing this country, Democrats have to start winning the South.”
Her argument reflected a broader push inside the party to elevate states where Black voters, who comprised more than half of the primary electorate in the last contested presidential primary in 2020, are central to the coalition.
Members said South Carolina’s Black voters deserve recognition for saving the party in past elections — including when voters handed Mr. Biden’s struggling campaign a lifeline and put him on a path to victory over Mr. Trump.
April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said South Carolina should go first in part because of the “economic exploitation that still permeates our society today — built on the fallacies of anti-blackness and White supremacy — that I believe exists in the government that is presiding over this country.”
If the full DNC signs off on the plan, the calendar would lock in the opening battleground for what’s shaping up to be a wide‑open Democratic primary — no incumbent, no clear frontrunner and plenty of candidates looking for an early breakout.
The long-running debate over the calendar underscores just how much the early primaries matter.
With a crowded field expected, the states that vote first will once again help determine who catches momentum, who attracts donors and who emerges as a viable contender.
Nevada’s advocates made their own case for why they should go first.
Artie Blanco, a prominent labor organizer and vice chair at‑large of the DNC, said the Silver State should go first, pointing to its strong union presence, and diverse coalition of Latino, Black, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and White working‑class voters.
“We do remain confident that Nevada offers our 2028 nominee the strongest path to victory, and starting in the West with a battleground state really kicks off the story,” she told the committee.
She also defended Nevada’s election laws, which allow mail ballots to be counted after Election Day — a process that critics say could delay final results.
That became a sticking point for others on the panel, who worried about launching the primary season with an outcome that might not be immediately clear.
Meanwhile, Joanne Dowdell, a DNC member from New Hampshire, said the Granite State has proven it should be the opening test.
“What New Hampshire has done for decades is battle-test candidates through tough face-to-face conversations that no ad buy can replicate,” she said. “That process matters more now than ever.”
Democrats on the panel repeatedly stressed that the process must unify the party.
“We are sending a message to America today that we are not business as usual — every voice matters,” said Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell. “And that voice is from the African-American community, the Hispanic community, the Jewish community, the Arab-American community and quite frankly White men, White women — everybody matters.”
