The first stop in the 2028 presidential nomination race will be South Carolina under a new schedule approved by the U.S. Democratic Party. The state’s primary is planned for January 22, 2028.
Voters in Nevada will go to the polls on February 1, 2028. Primaries in New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia will be held during February. This order will end Iowa’s long-standing position as the first state to hold a contest.
Different voters will shape the early contests
The schedule change will increase the influence of Black, Latino and unionized voters in the early stages of the nomination process. South Carolina’s large Black Democratic electorate will be decisive in the first contest, while Nevada and New Mexico will push candidates to seek support from Latino voters.
Michigan’s automotive industry, service-sector unions in Nevada and Virginia’s large federal workforce will also make organized labor a significant factor in the primaries.
Party officials defend the new arrangement
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said candidates should be tested by winning the support of different communities before moving on to the general election. Martin said candidates should have campaigned before diverse segments of the country and worked to earn the support of those communities.
Former committee chair Howard Dean also backed the change. Dean said the states included in the new schedule better reflect the country’s demographic makeup than Iowa and New Hampshire.
Preparing for competitive states
The new order aims to prepare Democratic candidates for the November general election through the early primaries. Five of the six states on the schedule are considered competitive in general elections, and together they represent 43 Electoral College votes.
South Carolina Democrat Boyd Brown said his party’s objective was clear. Brown said the Democratic Party was not a social club or a debating society, but a political party.
