Democratic National Committee members are gathering in Washington this week to decide which states will kick off the party's 2028 presidential primary, a high-stakes process that reflects ongoing internal battles over diversity, influence, and electoral credibility.
The DNC's rules and bylaws committee will convene Thursday and Friday at the Salamander Hotel to propose which states should receive waivers to hold early nominating contests, according to a party source familiar with the planning. Their recommendation will then go to the full DNC for a vote in Austin, Texas, next month.
South Carolina and Nevada are emerging as frontrunners to be the first to vote, the source said, citing their racial and ethnic diversity. This marks a continuation of the party's shift away from the overwhelmingly white, rural states that traditionally led the calendar.
Democrats have long chafed at the existing primary order, but the 2020 Iowa caucus disaster—where a flawed vote-reporting app caused days of chaos and delayed the winner—provided the impetus for change. In 2024, New Hampshire went first, followed by South Carolina and Nevada, though the contest was essentially uncontested as President Joe Biden faced minimal opposition. Biden won easily but later dropped out after a disastrous June debate against Donald Trump, with Vice President Kamala Harris replacing him and ultimately losing in November.
Now, with the party deeply divided between centrist and progressive wings—a split highlighted by recent left-wing primary victories in New York and Colorado—Democrats are again tinkering with the calendar. Iowa has lobbied hard to regain its first-in-the-nation status, but there is strong resistance to starting with less diverse states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
“The people who have elected me cycle after cycle after cycle have only asked me for three things: no more superdelegates, no Iowa or New Hampshire,” one DNC member said. “And after hearing presentations from all the states, that’s exactly how I plan to vote.”
The push to penalize states that go rogue has also hardened. At a meeting in Pittsburgh last month, DNC members voted to impose stiffer penalties on any state that jumps the line, as Florida and Michigan did in 2008. Under the new rules, states that hold unsanctioned contests would lose 100 percent of their delegates—up from 50 percent—and forfeit their entire delegation, including pledged delegates, alternates, standing committee members, the governor, and members of Congress. They would also face a $270,000 fine.
This internal jockeying comes as broader Democratic divisions over strategy and ideology play out in other arenas. For instance, the party's rift over Israel policy has widened, with 2028 hopefuls already staking out rival positions. Meanwhile, the DNC's focus on early-state diversity mirrors the ongoing debate about how to build a winning coalition, a question that remains unsettled after Trump's victory.
The final vote in Austin will set the stage for the 2028 primary, but the fight over the calendar is far from over. States that lose out may still attempt to challenge the process, risking severe penalties. For now, all eyes are on the Salamander Hotel as Democrats try to craft a primary system that reflects both their values and their electoral ambitions.
