COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina will go first in the 2028 Democratic primary contest nominating order, a move that keeps the Palmetto State in the early window and receiving outsized attention from White House hopefuls.

The decision was made Friday by the Democratic National Committee’s rules and bylaws committee. The full Democratic National Committee still needs to approve the final order.

DNC members met this week to decide which states will vote for the party’s nominee for president in 2028.

The rest of the order has yet to be determined, but New Hampshire is expected to be the first state in the Northeast, Nevada will be the first state in the West and Michigan will be the first state in the Midwest. Two more states also are expected to be added to the early window.

The committee also chose South Carolina to vote first in the South. North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia also applied for the early Southern state slots in the calendar.

Having South Carolina in the early window is a nod to the state’s Black voting population, a key demographic for the Democratic Party, several members of the panel and state party leaders said.

State Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain and state Rep. Roger Kirby, a Florence Democrat, made the case for South Carolina to lead off the presidential primaries to party officials in May. The presentation occurred days after the state Senate killed an effort to redraw South Carolina’s congressional districts.

South Carolina Democratic lawmakers and candidates had encouraged residents to vote early in the June primaries, which would have made it more difficult for lawmakers to pass a map intended to oust U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn. Tens of thousands of South Carolinians standing in line on the first day of early voting eventually made several Republican senators flip against redistricting in 2026.

“The fight is on,” Kirby said in May. “This is not the time for you, the DNC, to take away South Carolina’s first in nation primary.”

Spain also told the rules and bylaws panel South Carolina can “battle test” potential presidential candidates. The party also flexed its ability to set its own primary date and rules, unlike other states that sought the first-in-nation status.

“South Carolina has done the work, and we will continue to do the work, and we are ready to lead right now,” Spain said Friday. “We don’t need a legislative action. We don’t need a favor from our secretary of state. You can depend on South Carolina.”

In 2024, South Carolina formally kicked off the Democratic nominating process after President Joe Biden called for the state to be first in the nation. He also called for the party to review the nominating contest order every four years.

In 2020, South Carolina was fourth in the order as first in the South. Biden lost the first three nominating contests, but won South Carolina, which propelled him to the nomination and to his one term as president.

Potential 2028 contenders are already visiting South Carolina. U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear spoke at Clyburn’s annual Fish Fry in May. Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker also flocked to South Carolina this year.

“The South is not the past. It’s the future,” Spain said Friday. “And if we are serious about changing this country, Democrats have to start winning in the South, and we do that by making an investment.”

_____

©2026 The State. Visit thestate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.