{"id":48519,"date":"2026-08-16T10:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48519"},"modified":"2026-08-16T10:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:57:36","slug":"democrats-2028-presidential-calendar-gives-black-and-latino-voters-and-union-members-an-early-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=48519","title":{"rendered":"Democrats\u2019 2028 presidential calendar gives Black and Latino voters and union members an early say"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/15\/Democratic_National_Committee_Summer_Meeting_93455_s1440x960.jpg?f72536d07237fdd262042ae8f5e6e6de3b865f3c\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/austin\/\">AUSTIN<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a> \u2014 Democrats seeking the party\u2019s presidential nomination in 2028 will need to prove themselves early on in states where Black and Latino voters and union members are key supporters, under an election-year calendar approved Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The primary lineup pushes Iowa from the traditional top spot and makes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> the leadoff state, voting on Jan. 22, 2028, followed by Nevada on Feb. 1. New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia round out the early states, throughout February, according to the plan endorsed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/democratic-national-committee\/\">Democratic National Committee<\/a> at its meeting in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/texas\/\">Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>DNC Chairman Ken Martin said that to win the general election, \u201cYou have to be battle-tested in a way that you already have campaigned in front of and for the support of various communities throughout the country.\u201d That is why the calendar designed by the party matters, he said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>Some potential candidates in what is expected to be a large field have visited early-voting states such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a>. Party leaders have said the order give candidates the best shot at winning back the White House after Republican President Donald Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have to show that they can go to the South and talk to Black voters and rural voters, as well as out west, talking ranching and mining issues, to a border state, to union members,\u201d said party strategist Karen Finney, who has worked on multiple presidential campaigns. \u201cWhoever survives will be battle-tested.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Former presidential candidate Howard Dean, a onetime Vermont governor, recalled his tenure as national party chairman, when Democrats solidified Nevada and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> as early states behind Iowa and New Hampshire. The latest change is even better, he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese states look more like the country,\u201d as a whole, he said, \u201cwhereas Iowa and New Hampshire don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside>\n<\/aside>\n<h3>Nonwhite voters claim top billing<\/h3>\n<p>As the first-in-the-South primary, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> was more decisive than Iowa and New Hampshire for nominees Barack Obama in 2008, Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. All three dominated among <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina\u2019s<\/a> large Black population, which can yield more than half the state\u2019s Democratic primary electorate.<\/p>\n<p>With Nevada and New Mexico following, that will require candidates to court more Latino voters early in the process.<\/p>\n<p>Shifting from Iowa and New Hampshire does not mean little-known candidates cannot catch fire, as Pete Buttigieg did in Iowa and New Hampshire in 2020, when he was a 37-year-old former mayor. They just will not be able to do it with an almost entirely white audience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you can\u2019t go to every part of this country and make your case, you should not be running for president,\u201d Finney said.<\/p>\n<h3>The progressive vs. establishment dynamics may shift<\/h3>\n<p>There is disagreement over how Democrats\u2019 split between progressives and mainstream liberals may or may not surface in the nominating calendar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think our primary voters up north are probably a little different than primary voters in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a>,\u201d said Boyd Brown, a former DNC member from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s not the woke ideologies that we just can\u2019t get away from\u201d in other places.<\/p>\n<p>Nina Smith, a former Buttigieg adviser who now works closely with progressive causes, disagreed. Smith said Black South Carolinians, especially, have gravitated to more moderate candidates \u2013 twice rejecting Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in favor of Clinton and Biden.<\/p>\n<p>But, she said, \u201cSouthern Black voters are more progressive than they\u2019re given credit for\u201d on policy but also \u201crealists\u201d about what is possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLiving through Jim Crow and other oppressive structures will force you to be take that approach,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Smith said that with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> leading off and many Southern states following on Super Tuesday soon after the early lineup concludes, progressives will have to take the time to listen and then tailor their messages.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of Black voters don\u2019t necessarily see themselves in the ideas and arguments that progressives put forward,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<h3>Unions will get a spotlight in the early-voting states<\/h3>\n<p>Nevada has the service industry unions because of Las Vegas; Michigan has the auto industry and associated manufacturing support industries; Virginia is home to more federal workers than any other state.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLabor is still so important,\u201d Dean said.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond seeking the backing of organized labor, the campaigns and the party will look to unions for help in spreading Democrats\u2019 message to voters and getting people to the polls.<\/p>\n<h3>More scheduling efficiency for candidates<\/h3>\n<p>Campaigns struggle to balance many demands such as meeting voters in person, raising money and the logistics of travel. As a result, places such as Nevada have gotten short shrift in the past because candidates, most from the eastern part of the country, have concluded the investment of time is not worth it.<\/p>\n<p>An expanded calendar offers more clustering opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>A swing to the West could hit two early states &#8211; Nevada and New Mexico &#8211; and include a fundraising stop in California, full of Democratic donors. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> trip could mean fundraisers and public appearances in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh, both in North Carolina. Virginia offers proximity to donors and national TV studios in Washington; the same options are available by adding a New York City stop on the way to New Hampshire.<\/p>\n<p>Bre Maxwell is a DNC member from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> who said the state\u2019s smaller size and lower media costs are a financial equalizer, allowing not only the best-funded candidates to have an impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey can campaign from the top to the bottom in a day,\u201d Maxwell said.<\/p>\n<h3>It\u2019s about primaries, with a clear look to November<\/h3>\n<p>Of the six early states, all but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> have been competitive in general elections.<\/p>\n<p>That means that even before Super Tuesday, the Democratic candidates will have spent significant time and resources in states worth a combined 43 Electoral College votes. That is not insignificant on the way to the 270 needed to win.<\/p>\n<p>Television ads and news coverage can spill over, as well. Markets targeting parts of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/topics\/south-carolina\/\">South Carolina<\/a> also reach portions of North Carolina and Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>After all, Brown said, the point is to put a Democrat in the White House.<\/p>\n<p>                        <a name=\"pagebreak\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a social or a debate club. It is a political party,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"permission\" style=\"padding-top: 25px;\">\n<p>Copyright \u00a9 2026 The Washington Times, LLC.\n                        <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Democrats seeking the party\u2019s presidential nomination in 2028 will need to prove themselves early on in states where Black and Latino voters and union members are key supporters, under an election-year calendar approved Saturday. The primary lineup pushes Iowa from the traditional top spot and makes South Carolina the leadoff state, voting&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/twt-thumbs.washtimes.com\/media\/image\/2026\/08\/15\/Democratic_National_Committee_Summer_Meeting_86865_c0-250-6000-3750_s1200x700.jpg?2cb823f519263a3e55a419724463fd44fb7f7c61","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/48520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}