South Carolina received 26 votes from the committee, exceeding the 25-vote majority threshold. Nevada received 19 votes from the committee, while New Hampshire received 4 votes. Iowa was removed from the early-voting window for the 2028 Democratic primary.

The proposed South Carolina primary is scheduled for January 22, 2028. Six states are eligible to hold contests prior to Super Tuesday in the 2028 Democratic primary calendar. Twelve states applied for early window spots in the 2028 Democratic primary.

States first pitched DNC rules committee members for the 2028 calendar during a January meeting in Puerto Rico. The rules committee debated which state should go first at a Thursday evening dinner that extended past midnight. Committee co-chairs Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt Jr. described the proposal as “a rigorous, fair, and efficient calendar that will win Democrats back the White House in 2028”.

South Carolina’s push for the 2028 calendar was led by state party chair Christale Spain and DNC member Carol Fowler. Former DNC chair Jaime Harrison and U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn were high-profile allies of South Carolina’s 2028 primary bid. President Joe Biden pushed the DNC to move South Carolina to the front of the 2024 primary calendar.

South Carolina provided a key result for Joe Biden’s 2020 primary campaign. The 2020 Iowa caucus experienced technological failures that delayed results. Democrats voted after the 2020 election to require states to apply for waivers to hold early primaries.

The DNC may punish candidates who do not abide by the primary calendar by barring them from winning delegates from early states and forbidding them from participating in debates. The Supreme Court issued a decision weakening part of the Voting Rights Act. Republican-controlled states redrew majority-minority districts following the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decision.

Donald Trump won Nevada in the 2024 presidential election. U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell said Democrats need to send a message that they are not abandoning people who have been part of the party and are facing adverse rulings from the Supreme Court.

“There are going to be six states that are first in the country to make sure that every single segment of the Democratic Party, and those we need to bring back, are going to be part of this story,” Dingell said.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain emphasized the demographic importance of the decision. “When South Carolina goes first … the Deep South goes first, Black voters go first,” Spain said. “Black voters are the backbone of this party, and so we should continue to elevate Black voters’ role in the process, not push it further back.”

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford argued that the party loses working-class voters by skipping states where they live. “To win Nevada, you have to earn Latino voters, Black voters, AANHPI voters, AND white working-class voters — all at once,” Ford said. Nevada Democratic Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno stated that Nevada represents the coalition the party needs to win back in the next presidential cycle.

The decision solidifies a shift in the Democratic primary process that began with President Joe Biden’s push to elevate South Carolina in 2024. By placing a state with a significant Black voter base first, the party aims to reflect its diverse coalition and respond to voter suppression concerns following recent Supreme Court decisions on the Voting Rights Act. The removal of Iowa and the inclusion of multiple early states signal an effort to broaden geographic and demographic representation before Super Tuesday.