Democrats could hold a primary vote on the 2028 presidential primary calendar this week

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrats could vote as early as this week in the order of their primary calendar for the 2028 presidential election, though the decision won’t be final until the full Democratic National Committee approves.

The committee that determines the party’s voting order could make that decision as early as Friday when it meets in Washington, two people familiar with the party’s process but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press on Monday.

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The Rules and Regulations Committee holds monthly meetings as it considers the order in which states will vote during the 2028 primaries. The committee heard presentations from dozens of states hoping to start their primaries and caucuses, including Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The calendar is not considered set until it is approved by the full Democratic National Committee, which is scheduled to meet in August. The Democratic National Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats upended their process for setting their calendar after the debacle of the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucus, leading to days of uncertainty over who won. Since then, the party has favored more diverse states.

For the 2024 cycle, President Joe Biden has led the Democratic National Committee’s effort to make South Carolina — which for years hosted the party’s first Southern contest — finish first overall in the party’s primary. He noted the state’s racially diverse population compared to the nation’s traditional early states such as Iowa and New Hampshire, which are overwhelmingly white.

Four years ago, Rep. Jim Clyburn, South Carolina’s only Democratic congressman and for a time the top Black Democratic lawmaker on Capitol Hill, helped Biden revive his faltering primary campaign and score a resounding victory in the state. He then went on to secure the party’s presidential nomination.

Democratic leaders in South Carolina have pushed for the state to take leadership again, and have lobbied for support and approval from Democratic Party chairs in five Southern states. In May, they put pressure on South Carolina to regain its role as the nation’s front-runner, arguing that the state best represented the primary playing field for presidential candidates to build the coalitions needed to win.

A quarter of the state’s population is black and about 9% is Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau.