South Carolina to be the first Democratic primary in 2028

by · UPI

July 24 (UPI) -- South Carolina should be the first state to vote in Democratic primaries in 2028, according to the Democratic National Committee's rules and bylaws committee, which voted to approve it Friday.

The rules committee's recommendation will now go to the whole of the DNC, which will take up the matter in Austin, Texas, next month.

More than 12 states made their cases to the committee to be first to vote in the primaries.

Nevada, which lobbied with a last-minute appeal to the committee, came in second with 19 votes to South Carolina's 26. New Hampshire, usually the first, came in third with 4 votes. The committee also decided to add one more to the early-vote roster. The decision also removed the Iowa caucuses from the early-voting calendar, a first since 1976.

"I've said from the beginning that I care more about the early window as a whole than who goes first of the first set of states," Michael Kapp, a member who voted Friday, told The Hill. "With the addition of a sixth state, our eventual nominee will have to run through a gauntlet before ever reaching Super Tuesday.

"Every region, every constituency of this party will have a voice in the early window and be able to shape the race," Kapp said. "Ensuring we win in November 2028 is the priority -- this calendar will get us there."

South Carolina will vote Jan. 22; Nevada, Feb. 1; New Hampshire, Feb. 8; New Mexico, Feb. 15; Michigan, Feb. 22; and Virginia, Feb. 29.

Representatives from South Carolina and Nevada lobbied hard to have the first spot on the list.

"When South Carolina goes first ... the Deep South goes first, Black voters go first," South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain said this week in an interview with Roland Martin. "Black voters are the backbone of this party, and so we should continue to elevate Black voters' role in the process, not push it further back."

Nevada had its own lobbying effort.

"Democrats keep losing working-class voters because we keep skipping the states where they actually live. To win Nevada, you have to earn Latino voters, Black voters, AANHPI voters, AND white working-class voters -- all at once," Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democratic nominee for governor, wrote on X Wednesday.

Read More