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Announcing the 2028 Early Window States

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DNC Votes to Officially Select Early States for 2028 Democratic Presidential Nominating Calendar

Today, at the DNC’s summer meeting in Austin, Texas, the full DNC voted to officially approve the proposed slate of six early states to lead the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, as well as the accompanying rules package. The vote follows an outpouring of support for the Rules and Bylaws Committee’s proposal after their July meeting. Leaders, advocates, and Democrats from all across the country have praised the calendar’s historic diversity and its ability to battle-test candidates while maintaining an open, affordable field. 

The early window passed today, as proposed by RBC, includes six states in the following order. 

  • South Carolina, January 22, 2028
  • Nevada, February 1, 2028
  • New Hampshire, February 8, 2028
  • New Mexico, February 15, 2028
  • Michigan, February 22, 2028
  • Virginia, February 29, 2028

DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement: 

“The DNC has delivered a 2028 nominating calendar that truly represents our party and our values, and will help us retake the White House in 2028. I applaud the Rules and Bylaws Committee for their commitment to a transparent and fair selection process, which led to this rigorous, fair, and efficient early window.” 

Background on Selected States: 

  • Battle-testing Our Candidates: The early window delivers on RBC’s goal of a battle-tested nominee both with key battleground states and tests with a comprehensive range of voters key to winning back the White House.
    • Key battleground states are prominently featured in the early window with both Nevada and Michigan.
    • Other early window states feature competitive downballot races and swing voter populations with New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Virginia. 
  • Comprehensive Test with Diverse Voters: The early window provides a comprehensive test with diverse groups of voters that are key to winning a general election. In fact, it is the most diverse open field early window in Democratic Party history, massively increasing diverse representation from 2020 early window states.
    • Black Voters: 4.6 million Black people live in the early window states, an increase of 2.8 million. 
    • Latino Voters: 4.2 million Latinos live in the early window states, an increase of 2.4 million.
    • AANHPI Voters: 1.4 million Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islander Americans live in the early window states, an increase of 900k.
    • Native American Voters: 370k Native Americans live in the early window states, an increase of 280k.
    • Non-college Voters: 14 million Americans in the early window states do not have a college degree, an increase of 7.7 million.
    • Young Voters: More than 2.8 million young (18-24) people live in the early window states, an increase of more than 1.6 million.
    • Union Voters: More than 1.1 million union workers live in the early window states, an increase of more than 700k. 
    • Veterans/Military Voters: More than 2.1 million veteran and military voters live in the early window states, an increase of more than 1.2 million.
  • Keeping the Contest Open, Affordable: The early window is open and affordable for candidates — ensuring voters choose our 2028 nominee, not money.
    • The earliest portion of the window creates an open field, and does not box out any candidates based solely on warchest and name ID.
      • South Carolina has a very affordable media market, with estimated weekly ad cost that is among the lowest of any of the early states. 
      • The relatively inexpensive Reno media market serves the vast majority of Nevadans outside of the Las Vegas media market.
      • Both South Carolina and New Hampshire are geographically compact states, making travel more affordable and accessible.

Additional Context on the Rules and Bylaws Committee’s Process:

  • This week’s DNC vote comes after many months of careful planning and deliberation by the RBC, including:
  • The full DNC vote took place during the General Session meeting, which was livestreamed and can be found on the DNC’s YouTube page here.