COLUMBIA, S.C.-- Not even a year out from the last presidential election, the Democratic National Committee has begun setting up a framework for the party's next round of presidential primary elections, which could upend the early-voting calendar yet again.The Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee on Monday approved a plan giving states until January 16 to submit applications to hold voting contests in the early window ahead of Super Tuesday, when a massive haul of delegates will be awarded.No huge tranche of delegates is necessarily at stake in the early-voting contests, but their heft has traditionally played a pivotal role for candidates seeking to lead their parties, with heavy travel rotations meaning high visibility for the states involved.
“We are committed to executing a fair and transparent process that will deliver a battle-tested nominee who will win back the White House for Democrats," the committee co-chairs Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt, Jr.said in a joint statement.It will be months — and potentially years — before the 2028 calendar is set.
In June, several members of new DNC Chairman Ken Martin's leadership team said the party was considering scrambling its voting order for the next election cycle.That also happened in 2024, when — at President Joe Biden's behest — South Carolina hosted the Democrats’ first-in-the-nation contest, giving the incumbent president a resounding win in the state that had helped resurrect his flagging campaign four years earlier.
That move was also a nod to the party’s loyal base of Black voters, while adding Georgia and Michigan to the so-called early window.At some level, the next presidential primary has already begun — informally, at least.A half dozen presidential prospects have already begun to make early pilgrimages to the states that topped the calendar last time: South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa chief among them.As Democratic officials gathered in Martin’s ho...