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WASHINGTON — Democrats picked South Carolina to hold the first presidential contest of 2028 after a heated debate over whether the state, and its heavy Black population, should have an outsized sway in picking the nominee during what could be a combative open primary.Nevada got the OK to hold an early Democratic primary in 2028, along with New Hampshire and Michigan and as many as two more states. Democrats on the party’s rules and bylaws committee were still debating which other states could join and the order on Friday afternoon.The full membership of the Democratic National Committee must formally approve the selection. They are expected to do so at an August gathering.An intraparty dispute over which state should vote first pitted South Carolina against Nevada, a battleground state with a significant Latino population that was also pushing hard to hold the first contest. The fight turned personal and at times testy as Democrats on the decision-making panel spoke in raw terms about voting rights for Black Americans and immigration enforcement actions taken by the Trump administration.“We’re not a party on retreat. We’re not a party that is afraid. We are not a party of fear. We are the party that will give every American citizen, every eligible voter, a seat at our table. And again, that starts in the South. Black voters,” former DNC Chair Donna Brazile said during a forceful speech on Black voting power. The debate over which state should lead-off the primary calendar serves as a proxy for the problems facing the fractured political party as it tries to build a coalition that can beat Republicans across the country in the next national election.Democrats’ preliminary decision on July 24 came after months of reflection on a bruising election that ended with President Donald Trump's return to office. It will have major implications for where and how the party's presidential candidates campaign, with the committee effectively determining the order in which states are allowed to hold their primary contests and which voting blocs across the country wield the most power in the first open Democratic presidential race since 2020. South Carolina and Nevada were the favorites to go first and have been duking it out behind the scenes. One-time heavyweights New Hampshire and Iowa were battling to reclaim spots at the front and weighing whether to go rogue against the DNC. Georgia, New Mexico and Virginia are also hoping to receive spots at the front of the calendar. Democrats previously moved to make South Carolina the first state to vote in the presidential primary after an intervention by former President Joe Biden in the last presidential election. The decision led to a revolt by New Hampshire, which has a state law requiring it to hold the first primary, and penalties that kept Biden off the ballot. Biden supporters led a write-in campaign for the sitting president that he won.The party has since passed stiffer rules that are intended to prevent states such as New Hampshire and Iowa, another state that has traditionally voted first, from hopping the line.
