Last week, the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted to select six states for the early window of the 2028 Democratic presidential nominating calendar: South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan, and Virginia. The Committee’s proposed early window is the most diverse for an open field in Democrats’ history and will produce the strongest possible nominee in 2028.
After the announcement of the calendar, Democrats from across the country weighed in, with countless leaders and advocates highlighting the calendar’s many strengths — including how the early window battle tests our candidates, represents the diverse array of voters needed to take back the White House, and establishes a fair, open, and affordable process.
Take a look at some of the coverage and reactions below:
RBC’s Calendar Will Deliver a Winner:
- Senator Jacky Rosen: “Nevada is a diverse, working-class state — and a critical battleground for 2028. Our state’s early position in the 2028 primary calendar will make Nevada a critical part of the process and help us nominate a Democrat who can win the voters we need to take back the White House.”
- Curtis Hertel, Michigan Democratic Party Chair: “The road to the White House runs through Michigan, and we are proud to be in the early window of the 2028 presidential primary calendar. Michigan is the most diverse battleground state in the nation, and a candidate who can win here can win nationwide.”
- Christale Spain, South Carolina Democratic Party Chair and RBC Member: “The RBC deserves a big shout out for creating this calendar because this calendar is the most diverse, the most rigorous and efficient calendar that our party has put out ever.”
- Rep. Joyce Beatty, DNC Associate Chair: “Proud to see the @TheDemocrats’ Rules & Bylaws Committee advance the most diverse early presidential primary calendar in our party’s history. Ensuring racial, regional and demographic diversity and making sure our nominee is tested early in various competitive environments.”
- Rep. James Walkinshaw: “The DNC made the right call today. Virginia reflects all of what makes America great and will test the character, ability, and vision of contenders for the Democratic Presidential nomination.”
- Rep. Steven Horsford: “This has never been about one state or one community. It’s about building the coalition that wins 270 electoral votes. Nevada is where candidates demonstrate they can unite the diverse coalition Democrats need to win – not just a primary, but the presidency.”
- Bloomberg: “Overall, Democrats have produced a thoughtful calendar that accurately represents the party’s evolving coalition. They have elevated states that are large and small, urban and rural. There are states where campaigning is cheap and states where it is expensive. As a group, the states reflect all the party’s key constituencies, with big Latino populations in Nevada and New Mexico and a substantial union presence in Michigan and Nevada.”
- Senator Catherine Cortez Masto: “As the second Democratic primary, Nevada will be a key proving ground for any candidate who’s ready to win the White House and fight for working Americans in 2028.”
RBC’s Calendar Represents the Diversity of our Party:
- Michael Bland, Black Men Vote: “For decades, Black voters have been the foundation of Democratic victories. This proposed calendar recognizes that reality by ensuring Black communities help shape the presidential nomination process from the very beginning. With more than 4.5 million Black Americans living across the six proposed early primary states, this is the most diverse early primary window in an open Democratic presidential contest in the party’s history.”
- Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham: “For years, I’ve said the same thing: you cannot show up for Hispanic voters in November after Democrats have already picked a nominee. You have to engage with them from the start. Today, national Democrats agreed.”
- Chuck Rocha, Political Strategist: “I’m that voter that the Democrats are chasing. I never went to college. I grew up in a trailer house in east Texas. I worked in a factory on a farm more than I’ve been a political consultant. There’s a lot of me who live in South Carolina. Also a lot of me that live in Nevada. I love this choice of first and second.”
- Quentin James, The Collective PAC: “This is what it looks like when the Democratic Party listens to its base. […] The contrast could not be clearer. While Republicans work to silence Black voters after gutting the Voting Rights Act, Democrats just voted to put Black voters at the very front of the process of picking a president. That is more than symbolism. It means candidates will build their campaigns, their platforms, and their coalitions around our communities from day one.”
- Maria Cardona, RBC Member and Political Strategist: “The DNC’s new primary calendar uplifts black voters, Latino voters, AAPI voters, Native American voters, labor, military and veteran families, suburban voters, urban voters, rural voters, working class voters – ALL the voters that have been betrayed by Trump and Republicans! The 2028 Dem nominee will be battle-tested, and prepared to trounce the Republican nominee and win back the White House!”
- Adrienne Elrod, Political Strategist: “Smart strategy. Front loading primary calendar with diverse states both geographically and demographically makes for a much better process.”
- The Wall Street Journal: Democrats’ 2028 Presidential Calendar Elevates Black and Latino Voters – “In picking South Carolina, which also held the first 2024 Democratic contest, the committee empowered that state’s large Black voter population. In choosing Nevada to go second and New Mexico to go fourth, it elevated Latino voter influence after President Trump made inroads with that traditionally Democratic-leaning demographic.”
- Emily Davies, New York Times: “This calendar really gives a lot of power to Black voters, both in South Carolina, to kind of set the stage and compel candidates to spend a lot of time there, get attention, and then to Virginia and Michigan, which both have large Black electorates to really send their choice of candidates into the rest of the state. So it really changes the demographics that have power and therefore where the candidates need to really spend their time and attention.”
RBC’s Process & Calendar Ensure a Fair, Efficient, and Open Early Window:
- Rep. Jim Clyburn: “[South Carolina] is a relatively small state. It has four distinct cultures, a relatively cheap media market, and demographics that reflect what our voter population needs to be in order for our candidates to be successful in the general election.”
- Governor Abigail Spanberger: “[Virginia has] robust election administration, extensive in-person early voting, same-day voter registration, and broad absentee voting access which will ensure that a presidential primary will be accessible, orderly, and reflective of sustained voter engagement.”
- Colmon Elridge, Kentucky Democratic Party Chair and RBC Member: “[T]his committee and process was the most democratized calendar creation process in our party history. More voices representing the lived experiences and rich diversity of our nation and party at the table made this process historic and meaningful.”
- John McCarthy, Political Strategist: “The calendar was decided by a Rules and Bylaws committee that is actually more diverse and inclusive than ever before—mostly because of reforms by the Chair. The RBC was expanded, with DNC caucuses and councils choosing members directly for the first time ever.”
- Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, DNC Vice Chair: “This calendar ensures our nominee will have EARNED the support of the tapestry of voters that make up our big tent. Rigorous, transparent, and fair.”
