US Democrats choose South Carolina to kick off 2028 primaries

The US Democratic Party has chosen South Carolina as the inaugural state for the 2028 presidential primary primaries, announced on Saturday. Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin emphasized that this move represents the party's values and aims to aid Democrats in reclaiming the White House in 2028. South Carolina, known for its substantial African American population, will hold the primary on January 22, 2028. Following South Carolina, Nevada, a state with over 30% Latino residents, will vote on February 1.

The new primary schedule seeks to expose presidential hopefuls to a broader, more diverse electorate, as well as key swing states in the general election. South Carolina played a crucial role in Joe Biden's 2020 Democratic nomination victory, and President Biden subsequently altered the primary rules to make South Carolina the first in line. However, New Hampshire, which is mandated by state law to hold its primary first, defied the new rules and proceeded to vote before South Carolina.

To discourage such defiance, party officials voted to implement stricter penalties for states that do not adhere to the designated primary schedule. It is uncertain whether New Hampshire will comply with the new guidelines. Additionally, Iowa's situation remains ambiguous, as state law mandates caucuses, an alternative voting method, to occur before any other state.

Unlike South Carolina or Nevada, which have larger and more diverse populations, New Hampshire and Iowa have smaller, predominantly white populations. According to the US Census, over 90% of New Hampshire's 1.4 million residents are white, and 88% of Iowa's 3.2 million population is white.