DNC panel picks first 2028 primary state after battle over key voting blocs

Fox News - Politics DNC panel picks first 2028 primary state after battle over key voting blocs https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dnc-panel-picks-first-2028-primary-state-after-battle-over-key-voting-blocs 2026-07-24T20:00:26.330Z New Hampshire poll results indicate Rep.

25, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Paul Steinhauser - Fox News) "Because of this calendar, our candidates will be tested," said DNC Chair Ken Martin.

What we know

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leads the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination race with 22% of primary voter support. And the battle between South Carolina and Nevada was seen as a struggle between rewarding Black voters, who have long been loyal Democratic voters, and outreach to Latino voters, with whom President Donald Trump and Republicans made major gains in the 2024 election, handing Democrats major setbacks.

The panel also voted to allow Nevada, New Hampshire, Michigan, Virginia, and New Mexico to hold primaries in the early voting window, before the rest of the states hold nominating contests starting ahead of Super Tuesday. After the DNC removed New Hampshire from the top of its 2024 calendar, putting the state second along with Nevada, the Granite State still moved to the head of the line.

This committee’s vote does not change the realities governing New Hampshire’s primary, which are beyond the control of both this committee and our state party." DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB The "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada" sign on Feb.

The details

South Carolina is on course to remain the lead-off primary in the Democratic Party's 2028 presidential nominating calendar, after landing a key party committee's recommendation. The move was seen as an unwanted distraction for Democrats during the 2024 primaries.

What to watch

The Rules and Bylaws Committee's proposals on the calendar will face a final vote by the DNC's entire membership when the party holds its summer meeting next month in Austin, Texas. Adhering to a half-century-old law that mandates the Granite State to hold the first presidential primary a week ahead of any similar contest, New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan scheduled the Democratic and GOP presidential primary contests for Jan.