Democrats are poised to start their 2028 presidential primary in South Carolina, after the Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee recommended keeping the state at the front of their calendar.
New Hampshire is likely to hold an earlier contest anyway, as it mandates in state law, and as it did in 2024, when supporters of Joe Biden organized a write-in campaign for him to get around the DNC.
But the official changes to the schedule are significant, with the party recommending Michigan to replace Iowa as the first Midwest contest, and pushing New Mexico and Virginia into the first month of primaries. In months of meetings, Democrats were swayed by the argument that black voters deserved a bigger role in choosing their nominee; Rep. James Clyburn, who had said all year that it wasn’t important for him for South Carolina to vote first, reversed that stance this week, urging Democrats to let the primary kick off in his state.
South Carolina primary voters have traditionally been skeptical of left-wing candidates, and welcoming to black candidates; the vote was seen as a boon to potential candidates like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and former Vice President Kamala Harris.