South Carolina is poised to hold the first Democratic presidential nominating contest in 2028, after the Democratic National Committee’s powerful rules committee moved to keep the state at the front of the line.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The move, set to be recommended by the rules committee Friday and presented to the full Democratic National Committee at its summer meeting next month, settles a months-long battle between a handful of states.The end result elevates South Carolina over rivals like Nevada and New Hampshire, which will still be allowed to hold early nominating contests, and likely pushes Iowa out of the early-voting window altogether.
DNC members also granted Michigan the ability to hold an early contest, and they could add two more states before the day is done.The race to kick off the Democrats’ presidential nominating contest was hard-fought and drawn-out, with states first pitching DNC rules committee members during a January meeting in Puerto Rico and continuing to press hard in the months since.The struggle between Nevada and South Carolina turned tense in recent weeks, particularly among some who framed the debate as one between two key pieces of the Democratic Party’s base.
Latino voters make up a large portion of the Nevada electorate, and Black voters are the foundation of South Carolina’s Democratic electorate.Key Democrats from both states leaned heavily on DNC members and sought to sway broader public opinion in the party.“When South Carolina goes first… the Deep South goes first, Black voters go first,” South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain said this week during an interview with Roland Martin.
“Black voters are the backbone of this party, and so we should continue to elevate Black voters’ role in the process, not push it further back.” Nevada put on the hard sell too, with a host of lawmakers, Latino groups, and influential la...