AUSTIN, Texas — The Democratic National Committee on Saturday officially approved its new presidential primary calendar, cementing South Carolina’s first-in-the-nation status and highlighting its diverse base.
South Carolina’s primary is scheduled for Jan. 22, 2028, followed respectively by Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia on each Tuesday through the rest of January and February 2028.
Part of this change was due to issues Iowa had in its caucusing process in 2020 and the belief that the 2024 changes, which made South Carolina first in that election cycle, were primarily designed to aid then-President Joe Biden. When Democrats changed the calendar for 2024, they pledged to revisit the issue for the 2028 election cycle and committed to a transparent process.
There were some who spoke out against the calendar during the general session meeting, including Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, who said, “The 2028 calendar has no representation of states with a majority of Central or Mountain time zones, and no Midwest state is among the first four.”
DNC Chairman Ken Martin, and others, pushed for a calendar they say is more representative of the racial and socio-economic make-up of the country’s Democratic electorate as a whole.
Right before the overwhelming voice vote to adopt the calendar, the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, Christale Spain, drew cheers when she declared: “This calendar is bold. It is fearless. It shows that Democrats are unafraid. It shows that Democrats know that the road to the White House is through the Deep South. It is through Black and Brown communities — the people who are under attack. And it’s showing that we are going to center those folks and uplift those communities and uplift those issues.”
Martin, the party’s somewhat embattled chairman put this in context, saying, “Our 2028 nominee, whoever they are, will have to earn the support across the full breadth of America. Every region, every demographic, every generation, every economic station in life. No shortcuts, no coronation.”
He said the Democratic nominee for president in 2028 will have to “earn it” and that the calendar approved here on Saturday “reflects that diversity.” He urged members in the room to spread the idea that this calendar was a historic achievement.
While the full DNC has put its stamp of approval on the calendar, there are still challenges for some of the individual state parties. For example, New Hampshire’s state law requires it to go first in the nation and state parties that disobey the calendar are subject to fines and other penalties.
And while most of Saturday’s session was dedicated to the formality of approving the party’s presidential primary calendar, Democrats also approved resolutions that shape their party platform. This included a resolution to abolish U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and another aimed at reforming the agency. The “abolish” language drew immediate attention from the Republican Party, which has been seeking to paint all Democrats as far leftists.
Excitement was in the air in the hallways and ballrooms of the hotel that hosted the DNC’s summer meeting. But attendees were peppered with questions about Martin’s leadership and the national party’s fundraising woes.
According to the DNC’s latest FEC report, the party’s cash on hand was $16.3 million dollars, while also showing $18.5 million of debt at the end of June. The Republican National Committee, in comparison, had $128.5 million cash on hand and zero debt.
In reality, Democrats may not be lagging as far behind Republicans as it may appear. For this election cycle, the RNC has raised $278.5 million, compared to the DNC’s $207.4 million — something Martin touted during an interview with MS NOW on Saturday morning.
“We have raised a record amount of money for any chair that didn’t have the White House or the presidency, but the decision we made very early on was a direct correlation to a lesson we learned from the ‘24 election, which is: We started talking to voters too late in 2024 and in cycles previous to that.”
He went on to say that Democrats have been steadily dolling out money, instead of sitting on it and waiting until the last few months of the election cycle.
Many state party chairs who attended the meeting were complimentary of that approach.
“What I would say is that if you look at what’s on the ground, is that there has been an investment in states that’s actually incredibly important in an election cycle,” Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Curtis Hertel told MS NOW. “We’re investing actually on boots on the ground, real conversations with voters, and I think that’s actually more important than a lot of the other things that are funded in campaigns. So, I think this work couldn’t be done without that [DNC] partnership.”
Chris Jansing contributed to this report.
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