For the second consecutive presidential election cycle, South Carolina will be the first state on the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar in 2028. South Carolina moved to the front of the line in 2024, despite New Hampshire and Iowa historically leading the nominating calendar.
Several states vied to be the first to help choose the party’s nominee in 2028. The first few states tend to wield outsized influence in the nominating process. But some Democrats have argued that New Hampshire and Iowa do not reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S.
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While white non-Hispanics make up about 57% of the U.S. population, both Iowa and New Hampshire are more than 80% white non-Hispanic.
“The DNC has delivered a 2028 nominating calendar that truly represents our party and our values, and will help us retake the White House in 2028,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said.
The South Carolina primary will be held Jan. 22, 2028. Nevada will hold its primary Feb. 1, 2028. New Hampshire will follow a week later. Rounding out the early states will be New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia.
The party said its goal was to have a “battle-tested nominee” with experience in key battleground states and among a broad range of voters needed to win back the White House.
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In addition to diversity, the party said it considered the geographic size of states and the affordability of advertising in early states. The goal, the party said, is to prevent candidates from winning solely on name recognition.
In 2024, Democrats attempted to move New Hampshire’s primary later in the cycle. As a result, President Joe Biden did not place his name on the ballot. New Hampshire has a state law that requires the primary to be held first. As a result, the party did not award delegates based on the results of the primary.
Later in the election cycle, New Hampshire held a party-run process to divvy up delegates.
In 2020, South Carolina was the fourth state in the nomination process, behind Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada. South Carolina marked Joe Biden’s first victory after Pete Buttigieg won Iowa and Bernie Sanders won New Hampshire and Nevada. The South Carolina primary gave Biden a significant boost heading into Super Tuesday just days later.
Within days, only Biden and Sanders remained in the race.
