South Carolina is poised to remain the first Democratic presidential primary state after securing a key panel’s recommendation, a move that will maintain Black voters’ prominent position on the calendar.
Friday’s vote capped off months of aggressive organizing by Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa, all of which were seeking the coveted first-in-the-nation spot for 2028. The states’ party leaders and allies lobbied members of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws panel as it considered which states it would allow to hold primaries before Super Tuesday.
The panel also voted to allow Nevada, Michigan and New Hampshire to hold early primaries and is expected to add two more states. The full DNC will consider the RBC’s proposed slate at its August meeting.
In recent days it became clear that the panel was split between giving Nevada and South Carolina first billing. Members of the rules committee debated which state to make first at a Thursday evening dinner that stretched past midnight.
At the center of the debate was a question over how to balance acknowledging Black voters, the party’s most loyal members, while also reaching out to Latino voters, a bloc that drifted away from Democrats in 2024.
