ESTABLISHING A PECKING ORDER
National Democrats face dilemma as they weigh primary calendar
New Hampshire democratic Party officials were among several who passed out gift bags, highlighting businesses in the states, to the national party's Rules and Bylaws Committee in a bid to get in the early window for the 2028 presidential nominating calendar.
2028 ELECTIONS
Democrats face a familiar dilemma ahead of the 2028 presidential primary: which states get to hold their nominating contests first, and in what order. The choice could have far-reaching consequences for a political party wrestling with its identity and looking to recapture the White House after suffering two election losses in the past decade to President Donald Trump.
In 2022, then-President Joe Biden ultimately dictated the voting order, ousting Iowa, downgrading New Hampshire, promoting Nevada and adding Michigan and Georgia to the first bunch. He chose South Carolina to lead off.
With Biden out of the picture, Democrats seek a do-over.
Democrats on the national party's Rules and Bylaws Committee say they hope to make a decision by August.
South Carolina
South Carolina faces an uphill climb to retain the top spot and risks being tossed altogether.
In a May 28 letter to the DNC, the chairs of five southern Democratic parties urged the committee to keep South Carolina at the front of the line. They raised the U.S. Supreme Court's April ruling that gutted parts of the Voting Rights Act that prohibited racial discrimination in drawing congressional maps.
The state is diverse: Nearly 28% of its residents are Black, 8% are Hispanic and 2% are Asian. But it hasn't sent a Democrat to the White House since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Trump won it in an 18-point blowout against Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.
North Carolina
North Carolina elected Barack Obama in 2008. Five of its last six governors were Democrats. It has comparable demographics. A higher percentage of its population are Asian or Hispanic.
State party chair Anderson Clayton said North Carolina also can help with rural voters.
"It's no secret to anybody that we've not been engaging in these communities, and to me, one of the biggest ways that we can put a priority on them again is investing in a state that, again, besides Texas, has the second largest rural population," Clayton said her pitch to members of the DNC's rules and bylaws committee during a May 28 meeting in Washington.
Georgia
Georgia is fighting for a slot in the early window. It meets Democrats' diversity standard and helped swing the 2020 election to Biden.
However, committee members indicated they worry about Georgia's ability to fulfill other requirements. Most pressing was that after Biden selected Georgia to join the bloc in 2022, Democrats couldn't persuade Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to allow them to hold their primary earlier.
State party chair Charlie Bailey hinted at keeping South Carolina in the early window, in case Georgia runs into the same problem this time around.
Others in the South
Tennessee and Virginia also seek waivers to hold their primaries early. Neither are swing states.
Tennessee would have to pass legislation to change its primary date. Republicans have a super-majority there, putting the state in a similar situation as Georgia.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, also a former DNC chair, argued the state has "everything" Democrats are looking for, including protections for women seeking abortions and easy access to absentee ballots.
New Hampshire
New Hampshire held the first-in-the-nation primary for more than a century, immediately after Iowa's caucuses. State law requires it to hold the first presidential primary in the country.
After the Biden-backed calendar bumped New Hampshire from the top spot, it broke the DNC's rules in 2024 and went first anyway.
New Hampshire's Democratic leaders maintain their state, with its rich history of retail politics, is best equipped to vet presidential candidates.
Delaware
Democrats are considering kicking New Hampshire out of the early window and replacing it with Delaware, which is more diverse and shares a media market with must-win Pennsylvania.
However, some worry the state is too closely associated with Biden. His decision to quit the race and anoint Harris as his successor in 2024 remains a sore subject in the party after her loss to Trump.
Delaware also isn't particularly competitive; it voted for the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in every election for the past 50 years.
New Mexico
New Mexico seeks to unseat Nevada in the early window, and it brought in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, the only Hispanic governor in the U.S., to make its case.
It argued that its population of young, Hispanic, rural and Native American voters are critical to the Democratic coalition. It also pointed to its down-ballot bench, and the number of women and women of color elected to its legislature.
New Mexico would have to change its law to hold its primary earlier, but state representatives said they have support for the change from Democratic candidates.
Nevada
Displacing Nevada, which has had a spot in the early window since 2008, will be difficult, especially after Democrats changed the state law in 2021 to ditch its caucuses.
The battleground state has a majority-minority population: 31% of its residents are Hispanic, 11% are Black and 10% are Asian. It also has a strong union presence.
Latino voters shifted toward Trump in 2024. Now, they are moving away from him, former Congressional Black Caucus chair Steven Horsford argued in the state's pitch.
Michigan
Michigan previously represented the Midwest in the early window, and the swing state is pushing to stay at the front.
The state has a large Black population, a strong labor movement and pitched itself as "the framework of America."
But lingering over the presentation was the 2024 revolt of more than 100,000 Democrats who marked themselves as "uncommitted" in the Michigan primary in protest of Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Illinois
Illinois also requested a waiver from the committee to hold its primary early.
It highlighted the strength of its labor movement; its urban, suburban and rural communities; and its role in electing the nation's first Black president.
"Illinois is where President Obama built a movement that reached across communities, expanded the electorate and gave millions of people hope in the future of this country," state party chair Lisa Hernandez said.
Iowa
Biden booted Iowa from the early window, and Democrats on the rules panel indicated they aren't inclined to let the state back in. Iowa's caucuses do not allow for the kind of voter participation that national Democrats say they'd like to see. Almost 90% of Iowa's residents are white.
Iowa proposed to allow absentee voting by mail ahead of its in-person caucus to address panel members' concerns. Democrats there also simplified the caucus night process. The state that's known for tally delays also pledged to hire outside help, so it can release its results in full on the same night.
Former Iowa party chair Scott Brennan argued that Republicans in his state are guaranteed to hold their contest first, putting Democratic candidates at a disadvantage.
