Democrats Put South Carolina First for 2028 Primary Calendar

The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted on July 24 to recommend South Carolina as the first Democratic presidential primary state for the 2028 election cycle, cementing a major shift in the party’s nominating process. The vote, which passed 26-19-4, places the Palmetto State ahead of Nevada, New Hampshire, and other contenders, with the full DNC expected to finalize the decision at its summer meeting in August in Austin, Texas, according to NPR.

A Reshuffled Calendar

Under the proposed calendar, six states will be permitted to hold primaries before Super Tuesday on March 7, 2028. The recommended order begins with South Carolina on January 22, followed by Nevada on February 1, New Hampshire on February 8, New Mexico on February 15, Michigan on February 22, and Virginia on February 29, as NBC News reported.

The decision continues the party’s move away from the decades-long tradition of Iowa and New Hampshire leading the presidential nominating process. Iowa, which held the first caucuses for both parties for much of modern political history, is pushed out of the early voting window entirely under the new plan.

Elevating Black Voters

The push to prioritize South Carolina was driven by a concerted effort to elevate Black voters — a cornerstone of the Democratic Party’s electorate. Nearly one in four registered voters in South Carolina is Black, and 83% of Black voters nationwide backed Kamala Harris in 2024, according to AP Vote Cast data cited by NPR.

“The South is not the past, we are the future,” said Christale Spain, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party. “And if we are serious about changing this country, Democrats have to start winning in the South.”

Donna Brazile, a DNC rules committee member and former national party chair, made an emotional case for putting the South first. “If we believe in the future, the future that Barbara Jordan called us to build, we must begin the 2028 presidential primary season in the South,” she told the committee, as reported by NBC News.

Supporters of South Carolina repeatedly cited the Supreme Court’s weakening of the Voting Rights Act as a key reason to keep the state first. Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan urged members to recognize the stakes, telling the committee that “we need to send a message that we are not abandoning people that have been part of this party, and are being screwed by the Supreme Court.”

Not all Democrats were satisfied with the outcome. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford argued that his state’s diversity was being overlooked. “Democrats keep losing working-class voters because we keep skipping the states where they actually live,” Ford said.

A Diverging Political Landscape

While Democrats are reshaping their primary calendar, Republicans are not expected to make substantial changes to their 2028 lineup, according to ABC News. The GOP plans to keep Iowa and New Hampshire at the front of its process, creating an unusual divergence between the two major parties’ nominating schedules.

The 2028 cycle will be an open race on the Democratic side, with no incumbent seeking the nomination. President Trump, having already served two terms (having won the presidency in 2016 and again in 2024), is ineligible for re-election under the 22nd Amendment’s two-term limit, making the Republican nomination an open contest as well.

The Threat of Defiance

New Hampshire may defy the DNC’s approved calendar due to state law requiring it to hold the first primary in the nation. Ray Buckley, chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, sharply criticized the decision. “Today’s vote shows that many party insiders have learned nothing from 2024,” Buckley said. “This committee’s vote does not change the realities governing New Hampshire’s primary.”

The DNC has proposed stronger penalties for states that flout the calendar. These include stripping states of all delegates, fining the state party $270,000, and banning candidates from official party debates if they campaign in unsanctioned contests.

Historical Echoes

The reshuffled calendar carries echoes of 2020, when Joe Biden’s decisive victory in South Carolina revived his flagging campaign after poor finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. That victory propelled Biden to the nomination and ultimately the presidency. For the 2024 cycle, Biden pushed the DNC to reshuffle the calendar, moving South Carolina to the front for the first time — a change that is now being reinforced for 2028.

Christale Spain argued that South Carolina has proven its reliability. “South Carolina has done the work, and we will continue to do the work,” Spain said, according to ABC News. “We are ready to lead right now.”

What Comes Next

The full DNC will vote on the proposed calendar at its summer meeting in August in Austin, Texas. If approved, the 2028 Democratic primary season will begin with South Carolina on January 22 — a state that revived one presidential campaign and now stands as the first test for the next generation of Democratic hopefuls.

With open primaries on the horizon for both parties and Democrats still analyzing their losses in the 2024 general election, the calendar decision is among the most consequential the DNC will make this cycle. It will determine which voters get the earliest opportunity to shape the race — and which candidates can build the momentum needed to secure the nomination.