Dem panel taps South Carolina to hold first 2028 presidential primary
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South Carolina has been preliminarily tapped to hold the first Democratic presidential primary of 2028, as a key panel of party leaders picked the Palmetto State over Nevada on Friday after a contentious, racially fraught debate.
Why it matters: It's a coup for Black leaders who argued the party's most loyal voters — represented by South Carolina's large Black population — deserved to have the first chance to weigh in on who should be Democrats' next presidential nominee.
Driving the news: The debate over South Carolina and Nevada exposed divisions across race, ideology and region. It pitted Black Democrats against Latino Democrats, progressives against moderates, and Democrats from the South, Southwest and Northeast against one another.
Zoom in: Some members of the rules panel argued that South Carolina should hold the first primary because it's a diverse, small state that serves as a measure of a Democratic candidate's strength with Black voters.
In the hours before the committee gathered publicly this week, South Carolina Democrats and their allies argued that Black voters would feel betrayed if the state weren't picked to vote first. The state led off the 2024 primary season after a push by then-President Biden.
After her state cinched the No. 1 position, Spain told Axios that South Carolina won the debate in part because it has "experience doing it" and the flexibility to control its primary date.
Several Democrats cited the Supreme Court's recent decision weakening the Voting Rights Act as a key reason to support South Carolina.
Inside the room: Several members of the DNC panel gave emotional remarks during Friday's meeting.
Zoom out: Former Vice President Kamala Harris could benefit from the decision to put South Carolina at the top of the calendar.
What's next: Despite getting snubbed by the Democratic panel, New Hampshire — and perhaps Iowa — could go rogue and try to hold their contests earlier than allowed.
New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley said in a statement that "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."
This story has been updated with comments in reaction to the panel's vote and more detail on the approved order of the state contests.
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