South Carolina Democratic Party Chair’s Statement on the 2028 Presidential Nominating Calendar and Early States Selection Process

Columbia, SC – Today, the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee approved the principles and process to determine the 2028 Democratic Presidential Nominating Calendar. Applications for those states seeking to become one of the four or five states in the pre-primary window will be due in January. The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will use three criteria—Rigorousness, Efficiency, and Fairness — in selecting the early primary states. 

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain released the following statement:

“Over the last 20 years, South Carolina Democrats have played a special role in the Democratic Presidential nomination process by our participation as one of the four states to lead the primary calendar. In 2024, we were chosen by the Democratic National Committee as the First In the Nation Primary. South Carolina’s diverse electorate highlights the importance of amplifying the voices of historically underrepresented communities. South Carolina Democrats have consistently demonstrated the ability to pick the candidate who becomes our nominee. We will again make the case that South Carolina remains an early state and vigorously make the case that black, rural, urban, and southern voters must lead the way in the First in the Nation primary.”