Are they or aren't they? Not so fast on those 2028 DNC calendar rules.

Yesterday FHQ put reporting from the Associated Press that Democrats could vote later this week on which states will fill out the party's early state lineup for 2028 into the context of what a decision now may mean for which states are likely to make the cut. 

What was missing from the AP account was just how much weight that could was carrying. Adam Sexton at WMUR in Manchester, NH shed a little more light on that: 

"There is a lot of uncertainty right now over what the Democratic National Committee's Rules & Bylaws Committee will do when it potentially starts voting on the order of its presidential nominating calendar later this week.

"'It could be this week, could be the next couple of weeks,' said Ray Buckley, chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. 'It could be in the next couple months. That's really up to the committee to decide.'"

Buckley is not only chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party but a member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee as well. FHQ would not say that the chairman is throwing cold water on the notion of a vote this week to determine which states might get waivers from the party to hold early contests in 2028 and when those contests will be. However, Buckley is not saying that things are full steam ahead on that front either. 

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Noteworthy: So what? What does it matter if there is a vote on the calendar rules now, in two weeks or two months? 

Well, again, a vote now, as FHQ argued in yesterday's post, takes a number of options off the table. The states, among those 12 that applied for early status with the DNC, may not be limited all that much by a decision now, but where those pieces could be moved around in the early window of the primary calendar would be greatly constrained. And only time, not to mention the certainty of the midterm results, can resolve that. 

In a nutshell, that is what the members of the Rules and Bylaws Committee are wrestling with: Decide now and move on or wait and use the information from the midterms to better tailor an early calendar order. Clearly the latter would represent in many respects a repeat of the party's process for the 2024 calendar. And while it has been a while, it has been reported that DNC Chair Frank Martin seems to be pushing for an earlier decision. As Politico put it in a piece nearly a year ago:

One DNC member, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly, said DNC Chair Ken Martin told them he wanted the primary calendar to be sorted out quickly, potentially as soon as the end of 2025 or early 2026, and has urged rules members to expect related meetings throughout this fall.

No, a decision on the calendar did not come in 2025 or early 2026, but that does indicate some pressure from the chair for a decision earlier rather than later. That may factor into the timeline for a calendar decision.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Some additional thoughts on the Democrats' recent 2028 primary calendar meeting 

Learning, incentives, appearance versus reality and the limits of the national parties in calendar crafting

At FHQ Plus: Is the early 2028 Republican presidential primary calendar set?

Over at FHQ Plus...

The early 2028 calendar: Democratic change, Republican stability

The running assumption with respect to the 2028 presidential primary calendar — the early window of it anyway — is that the Democratic National Committee will reprise its 2024 calendar process and, at a bare minimum, explore changes to the states that will comprise the lineup of early contests in the presidential nomination process for the coming cycle. Actually, that is not an assumption at all. Democrats are in the midst of that review process with pitches for early state status from state parties involved now in the rearview. And a decision could come this week.

To the extent there is one, then, the assumption is across the aisle with Republicans and their calendar maneuvering — or lack thereof — ahead of the 2028 cycle. Reporting thus far has indicated that the GOP has adopted and appears to be sticking with a calendar rules package that is more traditional than that of their Democratic counterparts. In other words, the assumption has been that the Republican National Committee is very likely to sign off on and stick with the traditional lineup of early state contests: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.

The ultimate Republican rules will not likely specify it — they have not in past cycles and do not in the current (convention-adopted) rules for 2028 — but the expectation is that Iowa’s caucuses will precede the New Hampshire primary and that the Republican contests in Nevada and South Carolina will follow thereafter in some order. Yet, that expectation may not match reality in the end and for a variety of reasons. Over at FHQ Plus, I will explore those reasons that rules-based expectations may or may not be reflected in the eventual lineup of states on the 2028 presidential primary calendar.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

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"Democrats could take preliminary vote on their 2028 presidential primary calendar later this week"

Meg Kinnard and Joey Cappelletti at The Associated Press share the latest on the Democrats' efforts to nail down the early states for 2028:

"Democrats could vote as early as this week on the order of their primary calendar for the 2028 presidential election, although the decision wouldn’t be final until the full Democratic National Committee agrees.

The panel that sets the party’s voting order could make that determination as early as Friday when it meets in Washington, two people with knowledge of the party’s process but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee has been holding monthly meetings as it considers the order in which states will vote during the 2028 primaries. The panel has heard presentations from a dozen states hoping to kick off the party’s primaries and caucuses, including Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The calendar isn’t considered set until it’s approved by the full DNC, which is scheduled to meet in August."

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Noteworthy: Let's start at the end. The calendar rules are not set until they are approved by the DNC. As the Democrats' 2024 calendar process demonstrated, rules are one thing, implementing them is another. If the calendar was set when the DNC adopted the rules, then the New Hampshire primary would have been the same day as the Nevada primary and the Georgia primary would have occupied a spot in mid-February. 

It did not work out way.

That aside, there is a bigger point about the 2028 presidential primary calendar that is missing in the AP account. If the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee is making a decision at this point, before the midterms, then it likely means that of the 12 states who applied for early status, those currently lacking Democratic control of state government are out of the mix. That group includes Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. And it is not exactly a revelation. Additionally, it is unlikely that the RBC reverses course on the Iowa's caucuses. Again, that is not really a surprise. 

And that leaves a handful of blue states -- Delaware, Illinois, New Mexico and Virginia -- and four of the five states initially granted waivers in 2023, three of which ended up in the early window -- Michigan, Nevada and South Carolina. All three and New Hampshire check more of the boxes in the criteria for early state selection than the four blue states. But that latter group is most likely to fill any fifth slot for which the RBC may grant an early state waiver.

It is a largely status quo group of states relative to 2024 with some lingering mystery about the order. 

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Now we know which states they are looking at 

Some thoughts on the 2028 Democratic primary calendar process now that the deadline for state parties to apply with the DNC has come and gone

"Would You Let New Mexico Pick the President?"

Jesús Rodríguez at The New Yorker on the Democrats' efforts to settle on a lead-off state for 2028:

"Democrats are deciding what kind of party they want to be, but first they have to decide who gets to decide. Since January, twelve states have been trying to court the Rules and Bylaws Committee, insisting that their primary is the one that will determine a Democratic Presidential candidate who can beat the Republican heir to the maga movement. This has turned the discussion, at least in part, into a competition over which state is most like the rest of the nation, as several officials and party chairs told me. 'Nevada is a microcosm of the United States, with its diverse population,' the Nevada senator Catherine Cortez Masto said. 'I think you get a microcosm of the Democratic Party here,' Representative Sarah McBride, one of Delaware’s biggest boosters since the Bidens, said of the literal First State. 'We are a state, I think, that is the melting pot for the country,' Anderson Clayton, the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party, said. 'We look like America,' Curtis Hertel, the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, said. 'It’s a country of fifty states, but Georgia is the best representation of the diversity of our party,' Charlie Bailey, who chairs the Georgia Democrats, said.

"But the contest over the first-in-the-nation primaries has also become a proxy war over the future of the Party. The D.N.C.’s decision, expected by late summer, could have a significant effect on the 2028 cycle—from the crop of campaign staffers who can afford to relocate, to the ability of small campaigns to break through in large media markets. Although Iowa and New Hampshire haven’t always picked candidates that go on to win the Presidency, the early victors get to fly out of Des Moines and Manchester with an extremely valuable spoil: momentum, the type that an inert political party might need against a major popular movement. 'The issue here is about the stakes in this election, in 2028,' the New Hampshire senator Maggie Hassan, who won her seat in 2016 by a thousand and seventeen votes, told me. 'We have to win. We have to reverse Trumpism.'"

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Noteworthy: This is a really nice, well-reported piece. But... [You knew there was going to be a but.]

But it is typically gauzy media account in how it approaches this "battle" within the Democratic Party. Rodríguez goes heavy on diversity and representation, which are important! Each are among the many factors the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee is using to home in on the four or five states that will ultimately fill out the party's early window on the 2028 presidential primary calendar.

However, what's missing from the piece is arguably the most important component to the RBC's decision: Can the state/state party actually get the contest in question into the early window? And if one is going to report that a calendar decision is "expected by late summer," then not mentioning feasibility of primary/caucus movement -- even once! -- stands as a pretty glaring omission.

Why?

Well, if the end of summer is the point at which a decision on the calendar is to be made, then it really constrains the choice that is being made. It would limit the decision to states with contests already in the window or those that can easily get there. And not all 12 of the state parties that threw their hat in the ring for one of those early spots can get there. 

Not without the certainty that the midterms will likely bring. 

Control of state government come January 2027 will not be assured until then. And which party controls the levers of power will determine whether those states can or will be motivated to move a contest into February ahead of 2028. State governments hold that power in 10 of the 12 states vying for early slots in 2028. Iowa and South Carolina are the only exceptions.

These things matter. They may not be wholly determinative of the outcome, but they have an outsized role in how this is all going to shake out at some point later this year. 

And don't get FHQ started on this "two-hundred-and-seventy-thousand dollar fine" that the DNC will slap "on any state that staged an unauthorized competition." There is much more to it than that.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Now we know which states they are looking at 

Some thoughts on the 2028 Democratic primary calendar process now that the deadline for state parties to apply with the DNC has come and gone

DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Votes to Strengthen Penalties for Violations of Early Window of Presidential Nominating Calendar

DNC press release:

At this week’s meeting, the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) voted to strengthen penalties for states that hold or candidates who participate in an unsanctioned contest in the early window of the presidential nominating calendar. The RBC is working diligently to establish a calendar that delivers the strongest possible nominee for president. These strengthened rules aim to enforce a fair and orderly nominating process by providing clarity for both states and candidates. Importantly, these changes are being implemented early in the process, prior to a decision on the calendar and before any candidates are in the field, to ensure fairness to all parties.

Highlights from the changes include:

• Increasing the delegates lost for states that host an unsanctioned contest from 50% to 100%, including all automatic delegates.
• Requiring campaigns and candidates to denounce any efforts to campaign on their behalf in unsanctioned contests, expanding existing requirements beyond just a ban on direct participation.
• Prohibiting candidate participation in DNC debates, if that candidate or their campaign violates the early window rules.
• Prohibiting candidates who violate the rules from earning delegates in any early window contest.
• Implementing a $270,000 fine for any state that hosts an unsanctioned contest.
• Setting clear deadlines for states to establish the dates of their contests.
• Preventing backtracking on penalties for states or candidates who violate the rules.

The strengthened penalties were added via amendments to Rule 21 of the 2028 Delegate Selection Rules. The full meeting was livestreamed and can be found on the DNC’s YouTube page here.

RBC Co-Chairs Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt, Jr. released the following statement:

“Today, the Rules and Bylaws Committee completed its work on the 2028 Delegate Selection Rules, creating a fair, efficient, and rigorous process to govern how we select our 2028 nominee. These newly-adopted rules strengthen the Delegate Selection Process to ensure maximum participation and clarity.”

DNC Chair Ken Martin released the following statement:

“Democrats must retake the White House in 2028. Today, the Rules and Bylaws Committee took important steps to bring us closer to that reality by creating a clear and orderly process to deliver the strongest possible nominee.”

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Democrats devise their own super penalty for primary calendar violations

The Rules and Bylaws Committee adopted new enhanced penalties to punish states and candidates who break timing rules in 2028

Nevada's first in the nation bid earns major endorsements from national Latino, AAPI groups

Nevada Democratic Party press release:

Following last week’s Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting in Pittsburgh, Nevada’s bid to host the first in the nation presidential primary scored two major endorsements from leading national Democratic organizations representing prominent Latino and AAPI voices, CHC BOLD PAC and ASPIRE PAC. The organizations highlighted Nevada’s unparalleled diversity and emphasized that it is the one state in the early window where presidential campaigns can craft and pressure-test an economic message that resonates across the country, begin the work necessary to build support among working-class voters, and mobilize diverse communities who are critical to our success.

CHC BOLD PAC called on the DNC to elevate Latino voters by making Nevada the first presidential primary so candidates can prove they can win back working-class and Latino voters who voted for Trump in 2024 – many of whom are now regretting their vote. BOLD PAC pointed to Nevada’s nearly one million Latino residents, its status as a battleground state, and its proven track record of electing Democrats through strong Latino engagement, arguing that no state better reflects the diverse working-class Latino coalition Democrats need to win in 2028.

“If Democrats want to flip the White House in 2028 and continue winning up and down the ballot, we must prioritize Latino voices through early outreach and meaningful engagement in the presidential nominating process. No state better represents the broad coalition of diverse working-class voters that our party must build in order to be successful than Nevada.” – CHC BOLD PAC Chairwoman Linda Sánchez

ASPIRE PAC also endorsed Nevada’s bid, citing the state’s nation-leading AAPI population among early-state contenders and the growing political power of AAPI voters nationwide. Nevada being the First in the Nation primary would ensure presidential campaigns engage AAPI communities early and meaningfully, strengthening the Democratic Party’s relationship with one of the country’s fastest-growing electorates.

“The diversity of Nevada’s voters best represents the broad coalition that a viable 2028 Democratic presidential candidate must have to take back the White House. Candidates who can win the primary in a battleground state with significant Asian, Black, and Latino primary voters will have a solid path to the Democratic nomination and can defeat a Republican in the general election.” – ASPIRE PAC Chair Marilyn Strickland

These endorsements come after other prominent organizations including Latino Victory Fund, Somos Votantes, UNITE Here and AAPI Victory backed Nevada’s first in the nation campaign earlier this year, demonstrating the growing support as national organizations recognize that the Democratic presidential nominating process should begin in the battleground state that best reflects the country and the voters who will decide the next presidential election.

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Noteworthy: Nevada's endorsement from this pair of groups comes on the heels of South Carolina previously being endorsed by Democratic state party chairs across the Deep South and tapping Joe Biden to help make a 2028 push for first-in-the-nation status.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

Gov. McKee's signature moves Rhode Island presidential primary to Super Tuesday

On Thursday, June 18, Governor Dan McKee (D) signed H 7090 and S 2491 into law. The identical measures move the presidential primary in Rhode Island from the fourth Tuesday in April up to the first Tuesday in March, Super Tuesday. 

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Noteworthy: The Rhode Island primary joins state-run primaries in 13 other states that are currently scheduled for Super Tuesday in 2028. The Ocean state returns to Super Tuesday for the first time since 2004.

Rhode Island also becomes the first state to officially move one way or the other on the primary calendar during the 2028 cycle. 

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Related:

2/9/26: Rhode Island legislation eyeing Super Tuesday presidential primary

2/18/26: Senate companion bill would also see Rhode Island presidential primary shifted to Super Tuesday

4/7/26: "Rhode Island primary election day could change in 2026 and 2028. Here's why."

4/30/26: Rhode Island House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Rhode Island Senate committee advances Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill unanimously passes Rhode Island Senate

6/11/26: Rhode Island Senate committee tees up concurrence vote on Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/12/26: On to the governor: Super Tuesday primary bills clear final legislative hurdles in Rhode Island

This action will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

New legislation proposes slight shift in New Jersey primary timing

Late last week, New Jersey state Sen. Brian Stack (D-33rd, Union City) introduced legislation -- S 4445 -- to push back the primary in the Garden state by a week. 

The impetus for the bill's introduction is the conflict between the early voting period for the state's June consolidated primary and the Memorial Day holiday. Stack's reasoning, according to the New Jersey Globe, was simple enough...

"This year, the June 2 primary triggered in-person early voting to begin on the day after Memorial Day. Stack wants some daylight between the holiday weekend and the start of the six-day early voting period.

“'The whole purpose of six days of early voting in the primary is to increase voter turnout,' Stack said. 'Starting right after Memorial Day really crimps the turnout. It defeats the purpose.'

"Some election officials noted that being closed on the day before the first day of early voting creates obstacles to early voting, including confirming board workers and delivering machines."

The fix in S 4445? 

Shift the primary back a week from the Tuesday after the first Monday in June to the Tuesday after the second Monday in June. That would push the beginning of the early voting period (and preparation for it) out of conflict with Memorial Day in late May.

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Noteworthy: Now, this is not an example of frontloading. Quite the contrary, actually. If this bill is enacted, then New Jersey would be backloading the consolidated primary (including the presidential primary) about as far as it could be without penalty under national party rules. 

...under most circumstances. 

Let's consider 2028. Under the provisions of this measure, the New Jersey primary would fall on June 13, the Tuesday after the second Monday in June. 

The last date on which a primary or caucus can be held under Democratic National Committee delegate selection rules is the second Tuesday in June. That would be June 13 in 2028, the last possible date on the Democratic presidential primary calendar.

On the Republican side, things are a touch more complicated because Republican National Committee rules provide two (conditional) last dates for the primary calendar. The last date on which primaries and caucuses can be conducted under Republican rules is either the second Saturday in June or less than 45 days before the start of the national convention. June 13, 2028 would be fine for New Jersey Republicans under the former. The second Saturday in June is June 17 in 2028. And while the date of the 2028 Republican National Convention is unknown at this time, following established norms where the party in the White House holds the later of the two major party conventions, a June 13 date would likely be outside of the 45 day window established by the RNC rules. 

So June 13 looks okay for New Jersey in 2028. 

But fast forward four years to 2032 when June begins on a Tuesday. That puts the Tuesday after the second Monday of June on June 15, a date after both the second Tuesday in June (June 8) described in DNC rules and the second Saturday in June (June 12) from the RNC guidelines. It would mean at least a 50 percent reduction to the Democratic delegation from the Garden state and the super penalty for New Jersey's Republican delegation (reduction to 12 total delegates).

Of course, Sen. Stack, again according to the Globe, has anticipated that possible conflict. "But Stack also acknowledged that New Jersey’s hands might be tied in presidential elections since national party rules require delegates to be selected by a certain date. He said he has no intention of diminishing the state’s role in the presidential nomination process and is willing to amend his bill to exempt presidential primaries if necessary."

But what that exemption would look like for a presidential primary is unknown. Would it still be held on the current date -- the Tuesday after the first Monday in June -- and in conflict with Memorial Day? Presumably not. 

There are two alternatives. 

The first is less an exemption for the presidential primary than a breaking up of the consolidated primary to hold a separate presidential primary on a date compliant with both parties' rules and everything else on the Tuesday after the second Tuesday in June as called for in this bill. That would "free up" the legislature in Trenton to move the separate presidential primary to some earlier -- or much earlier -- date on the calendar. Granted, "freeing up" also means the state funding the new and separate presidential primary election (which may or may not prove problematic).

The second option is to create a presidential year -- and not presidential primary -- exemption. In other words, in all years but those divisible by four, the New Jersey primary would fall on the Tuesday after the second Monday in June as called for in Stack's legislation. However, in presidential election years, the date of the consolidated primary would be both earlier and compliant with national party rules. 

Or, you know, Sen. Stack could avoid all of these complications and propose shifting the New Jersey consolidated primary in the other direction: into late May (rather than mid-June). Holding a primary and any attendant early voting period slightly before Memorial Day is a means to the same end as well. 

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This bill will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

On to the governor: Super Tuesday primary bills clear final legislative hurdles in Rhode Island

Presidential primary legislation was caught up in the hustle and bustle of the final day of the 2026 session of the Rhode Island General Assembly on Thursday, June 11. Both the state House and Senate concurred with the versions of legislation passed in the opposite chamber to move the presidential primary in the Ocean state to Super Tuesday. 

H 7090 was unanimously concurred with (38-0) as a part of a multi-bill consent calendar package as the first order of business before the Senate in the afternoon session. And the story was identical on the other side of the capitol in the House. S 2491, the Senate-passed version, was concurred with in the lower chamber in similar fashion by a vote of 63-0. 

Both measures now head to Governor Dan McKee (D) for his consideration.  

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Noteworthy: Rhode Island now moves a step closer to shifting its presidential primary from the end of April to the earliest Tuesday on the primary calendar that complies with national party rules. The primary in the Ocean state would join contests in at least 14 other states on Super Tuesday. [Puerto Rico Democrats have already stated their intention to schedule their primary for the first Tuesday in March as well.]

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Related:

2/9/26: Rhode Island legislation eyeing Super Tuesday presidential primary

2/18/26: Senate companion bill would also see Rhode Island presidential primary shifted to Super Tuesday

4/7/26: "Rhode Island primary election day could change in 2026 and 2028. Here's why."

4/30/26: Rhode Island House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Rhode Island Senate committee advances Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill unanimously passes Rhode Island Senate

6/11/26: Rhode Island Senate committee tees up concurrence vote on Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/19/26: Gov. McKee's signature moves Rhode Island presidential primary to Super Tuesday

This action will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

Rhode Island Senate committee tees up concurrence vote on Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

The Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee quickly took up and, without debate, signed off on H 7090 on Tuesday, June 9. That House-passed measure aims to move the presidential primary in the Ocean state from the fourth Tuesday in April up to the first Tuesday in March, Super Tuesday. The panel recommended that the upper chamber concur with the House on the legislation.

The bill now heads to the Senate floor where it is up for consideration on the consent calendar for Thursday, June 11.

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Noteworthy: After a quiet 2026 in terms of primary calendar movement ahead of 2028, Rhode Island has inched up to the precipice of becoming the first state to move (via legislative action) this year. 

The move, if it comes to fruition, would schedule the Rhode Island presidential primary back on the first Tuesday in March for the first time since 2008 and back on Super Tuesday for the first time since 2004.

The Senate version of the legislation passed the upper chamber last week.

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Related:

2/9/26: Rhode Island legislation eyeing Super Tuesday presidential primary

2/18/26: Senate companion bill would also see Rhode Island presidential primary shifted to Super Tuesday

4/7/26: "Rhode Island primary election day could change in 2026 and 2028. Here's why."

4/30/26: Rhode Island House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Rhode Island Senate committee advances Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill unanimously passes Rhode Island Senate

6/12/26: On to the governor: Super Tuesday primary bills clear final legislative hurdles in Rhode Island

6/19/26: Gov. McKee's signature moves Rhode Island presidential primary to Super Tuesday

This action will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

Super Tuesday presidential primary bill unanimously passes Rhode Island Senate

With the clocking winding down on the 2026 session the Rhode Island Senate ran through a lost list of legislation rapid fire on Thursday, June 4. Among the bills addressed, the upper chamber in the Ocean state took up and without debate unanimously passed -- 37-0 -- a measure to shift the presidential primary to Super Tuesday starting in 2028. S 2491 would move the Rhode Island presidential primary from the fourth Tuesday in April to the first Tuesday in March, Super Tuesday.

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Noteworthy: Separate bills with identical language have now navigated through their respective chambers of origin. The House version passed at the end of April and has been in the Senate since early May. The session adjourns on June 30.

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Related:

2/9/26: Rhode Island legislation eyeing Super Tuesday presidential primary

2/18/26: Senate companion bill would also see Rhode Island presidential primary shifted to Super Tuesday

4/7/26: "Rhode Island primary election day could change in 2026 and 2028. Here's why."

4/30/26: Rhode Island House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Rhode Island Senate committee advances Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/11/26: Rhode Island Senate committee tees up concurrence vote on Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/12/26: On to the governor: Super Tuesday primary bills clear final legislative hurdles in Rhode Island

6/19/26: Gov. McKee's signature moves Rhode Island presidential primary to Super Tuesday

This action will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

Rhode Island Senate committee advances Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

On Tuesday, June 2, the Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee positively reported S 2491, the upper chamber's companion bill intended to shift the presidential primary in the Ocean state from the end of April to Super Tuesday in early March. The measure was advanced without debate and only one dissent in the committee's voice vote. 

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Noteworthy: As the Senate version of the Super Tuesday bill had previously had a hearing in Judiciary, the panel opted to take it up in executive session rather than start the process anew with the identical House-passed version in the waning days of the legislative session in Providence. S 2491 is on the calendar for consideration by the full Senate on Thursday, June 4.

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Related:

2/9/26: Rhode Island legislation eyeing Super Tuesday presidential primary

2/18/26: Senate companion bill would also see Rhode Island presidential primary shifted to Super Tuesday

4/7/26: "Rhode Island primary election day could change in 2026 and 2028. Here's why."

4/30/26: Rhode Island House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill unanimously passes Rhode Island Senate

6/11/26: Rhode Island Senate committee tees up concurrence vote on Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/12/26: On to the governor: Super Tuesday primary bills clear final legislative hurdles in Rhode Island

6/19/26: Gov. McKee's signature moves Rhode Island presidential primary to Super Tuesday

This action will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

--

Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees

"Republicans are gutting southern Dem districts. Dems might front-load the South in its 2028 primaries to respond."

Lisa Kashinsky at Politico reports on the possibility of two southern states making it into the early window of the 2028 presidential primary calendar, post-Callais:

"Democrats are weighing whether they can use their 2028 primary calendar to try to rebuild their party’s strength in the South amid aggressive GOP gerrymanders.

"As Democratic National Committee members meet in D.C. this week to discuss which states will lead the next presidential nominating contest, the GOP push to dismantle majority-Black districts and dilute Democrats’ power across the South is ratcheting up the selection stakes. Some members are now advocating for two southern states to make the cut as the Callais ruling adds fresh urgency to Democrats’ long-running debate over how to amplify the voices of Black voters who have long been the party’s backbone."

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Noteworthy: A couple of thoughts about this...

1. Even before the Callais decision came down, it was true that approaching a majority of the states -- five of 12 -- that applied for a waiver from the Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) to hold an early contest in 2028 were from the south. That has not changed following the decision. As I said at our sister site, FHQ Plus back in January: "The only other mysteries are if there will be a fifth state and which state that may be. The overrepresentation of southern states in the pool may give the region an advantage in claiming a second spot among the would-be five early states. Granted, that is far from guaranteed." Post-Callais, that overrepresentation of the South positions the DNC to make a statement with the calendar. [Side note: Bear in mind also that the DNC attempted to get two southern states into the early window for 2024 as well.]
2. As a counterpoint, however, look at the 2028 presidential primary calendar and consider the southern states that have applied for early state status...

• North Carolina? Super Tuesday.
• Tennessee? Super Tuesday.
• Virginia? Super Tuesday.
• Georgia? Regardless of the partisan affiliation of the next Secretary of State in the Peach state, they can easily -- and without penalty from either party -- set a Super Tuesday date for the Georgia primary. 
• And hey, throw in Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas? All Super Tuesday primaries.

There is an argument that the calendar is already frontloaded with southern states, a remnant of Republican efforts across the region to create an "SEC primary" ahead of 2016. The only thing that separates those states above from the early window on the 2028 calendar is at most a week and possibly even just a weekend before Super Tuesday. That does not preclude the RBC from granting early state waivers to two southern states, but such a move may or may not be superfluous given how southern-tinged the front of the calendar already is. 

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Now we know which states they are looking at 

Some thoughts on the 2028 Democratic primary calendar process now that the deadline for state parties to apply with the DNC has come and gone

"5 Southern Democratic chairs say South Carolina should lead off 2028 presidential primary calendar"

Meg Kinard at the AP sets the stage for the presentation South Carolina Democrats will make to the Rules and Bylaws Committee for going early in 2028:

"Democratic leaders in a handful of southern states are lobbying for South Carolina to reprise its role as the party’s first-in-the-nation state to cast primary ballots in 2028, arguing that the state best represents the initial playing field for presidential candidates to build the coalitions needed to win.

"The state party chairs of five Democratic parties wrote a letter Thursday to the Democratic National Committee calling on party leaders 'to do everything in your power to ensure South Carolina continues to serve as the indispensable first proving ground for Democratic presidential nominees.' The DNC is currently debating the order in which states will vote in the next round of presidential primaries.

"The state should hold the first presidential balloting in 2028, they argued, in part because it 'is not simply a geographic starting point. It is a moral and political compass for our party and our nation.'”

...

“'The fight for voting rights is no longer just a courtroom battle, it is an electoral one,' the Democratic chairs from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia wrote in the letter, provided to The Associated Press ahead of its release. 'And it begins in South Carolina.'”

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Noteworthy: There are five states from the south, including South Carolina, that have applied with the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) to hold early contests in 2028. The Democrat chairs in all of the other southern states, save Florida and Texas, back the Palmetto state's bid to go not only early but first. It is an endorsement that will likely carry some weight with the members of the RBC, coming from fellow DNC members. 

Now, it may not ultimately prove decisive in this selection process, but this is an endorsement that will not hurt South Carolina Democrats' case for an early slot in 2028. 

And it is worth noting that this sort of endorsement from fellow regional allies is unique so far to the presentation stage of the selection process. No other applicant states have brought forth anything similar in their pitches to the panel.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Now we know which states they are looking at 

Some thoughts on the 2028 Democratic primary calendar process now that the deadline for state parties to apply with the DNC has come and gone

Filibuster threat was the undoing of Missouri presidential primary bill

There is one last footnote to the latest failed attempt in Jefferson City to restore the Missouri presidential primary. From Rep. Rudy Veit (R-59th, Wardsville), summing up his work during the 2026 session of the General Assembly to constituents in the local paper:

Unfortunately, my presidential primary bill failed during the final week of session after one senator announced plans to extend floor debate or filibuster the measure, effectively ending any opportunity to move it forward before adjournment. The bill had broad bipartisan support among both Republican and Democratic party organizations and passed overwhelmingly in the House. To be quite honest, the bill has been routinely blocked by individuals who know that they stand to gain from having a closed primary. It seems to me that there is no reason to have a closed presidential primary except to reduce the number of people who are able to participate in the process, particularly people who work, have families, or other commitments. This especially deprives people like our military service members, firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other professionals who cannot easily take off work to go vote in a closed primary. If you see someone opposing an open presidential primary in Missouri, you can safely assume that they want nothing more than to increase their own power and clout at the cost of your ability to participate in our elections.

Ultimately, my position is simple: we should always strive to have a voting system that promotes citizen participation, and that any limitation on when you vote or who you vote for should be scrutinized to the highest degree. Unless limitations on voting are absolutely necessary, such as being able to identify yourself, they should not exist. I do not think this should be controversial in a democratic society.

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Noteworthy: The Missouri Senate has been where these efforts to revive the presidential primary have gone to die. That is, if they make it through the state House. A few bills have managed to navigate through the lower chamber -- and this session's moved the closest to full passage of any of the measures over the last four sessions -- but the Senate continues to be a backstop against the primary efforts. And leaving the primary open remains the final obstacle. The Veit/Banderman bill in 2026 ultimately addressed all of the other concerns that have been raised by opponents in recent years.

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See also: 

12/10/25: Missouri Senate bills prefiled to reinstate presidential primary

12/18/25: Missouri House again tees up host of bills to resurrect the defunct Show-Me state presidential primary

1/28/26: "House committee kills plan to reinstate Missouri presidential primary"

2/3/26: Another one bites the dust: Missouri Senate bill stripped of provision to reestablish a presidential primary

3/5/26: Missouri House Elections Committee reports amended Super Tuesday primary bill "do pass"

4/1/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill gets the green light from second Missouri House committee

4/7/26: Missouri House clears Super Tuesday presidential primary bill for final passage

4/9/26: Missouri House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

4/29/26: "Missouri Senate committee debates plan to reinstate presidential primary for 2028"

5/5/26: Missouri Senate committee gives Super Tuesday presidential primary bill the thumbs up

5/6/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill clears committee hurdle in Missouri Senate

5/18/26: The close of the 2026 legislative session kills the latest attempt to restore Missouri's presidential primary

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This action has been added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Hopping back on the Missouri presidential primary merry-go-round

A newly amended bill in Jefferson City would bring the primary back to the Show-Me state and shake up Missouri's delegate selection/allocation process along the way

"Democrats to pitch new-look Iowa Caucuses in bid to go first once more"

Brianne Pfannenstiel at the Des Moines Register shares the latest on Iowa Democrats push to return to the early window for 2028:

"Iowa Democrats will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to pitch a streamlined caucus plan they hope will convince national party leaders that Iowa deserves another shot to be at the front of the presidential nominating calendar."

...

"Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart has argued repeatedly that the [DNC Rules and Bylaws] committee should reconsider Iowa as Democrats work to regain ground with rural, working-class voters who have fled the party in droves.

"'In order to do that, we've got to have a state like Iowa where any Democratic presidential candidate can compete, where it's affordable and where the candidates can look forward to getting up close and personal and really understanding the issues that will bring us back to an understanding of working class voters,' Hart told the Des Moines Register."

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Noteworthy: The devil, as always, is in the details.

More will obviously be revealed when the Iowa Democratic delegation makes its case before the RBC this week, but one thing is clear in Pfannenstiel's interview with Chair Hart: The old caucuses are gone. 

There would be no more physical gathering in groups at caucus sites, determining viability (15 percent support) and realigning among viable groups to begin the process of calculating state delegate equivalents for the next steps in the overall caucus/convention process. All of that is out, streamlined and replaced by paper ballots similar to those used in the Iowa Republican presidential caucus process but to be preceded by an absentee voting period in the lead up to the caucus meeting (a carry over from the 2024 Democratic process).

Part the RBC will likely enjoy seeing included: the streamlined process. Anything that appears miles simpler than the 2020 process will go a long way.

Part(s) the RBC may push back on: Not only having a party-run process lead off (or be early on) the 2028 presidential primary calendar, but having a heretofore untested new (albeit simplified) party-run process be a part of the early window. Of the 12 states applying for an early window waiver, only Iowa is proposing a party-run affair. The remaining 11 all have state-run presidential primary elections. 

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Now we know which states they are looking at 

Some thoughts on the 2028 Democratic primary calendar process now that the deadline for state parties to apply with the DNC has come and gone

The close of the 2026 legislative session kills the latest attempt to restore Missouri's presidential primary

The 2026 session of the Missouri General Assembly adjourned on Friday, May 15. One bill that died in the process was HB 2387/2480, a measure that would have reestablished a state-funded presidential primary in the Show-Me state for the first time since the 2020 cycle.

The legislation passed the state House with broad bipartisan support and made it through the committee stage on the Senate side. However, in the waning days of the session in Jefferson City, the bill was never brought up on the floor of the upper chamber.  

And thus ended another chapter in the ongoing effort to restore the presidential primary election in Missouri.

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Noteworthy: Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. And since the Missouri presidential primary is neither of those, this bill getting further into the legislative process than any of the other measures attempting to restore the primary since the election was eliminated by an act of the General Assembly in 2022, it does not count for much. But the incremental progress across the 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026 sessions suggests that 1) there will be another push in 2027 and 2) there is just one more hurdle -- Senate passage -- left to clear in the legislature. 

But the Missouri Senate has proven to be particularly cumbersome obstacle over the last four sessions. That there is just one roadblock left to clear, then, does not speak to the level of resistance among majority Republicans in the upper chamber. And none of this, of course, says anything about how receptive the governor would be to the idea. Both, however, remain a story for 2027. 

[It is unlikely that there is enough urgency to bring the presidential primary up in any special session that may be convened in the interregnum before the 2027 session gavels in in Jefferson City.]  

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See also: 

12/10/25: Missouri Senate bills prefiled to reinstate presidential primary

12/18/25: Missouri House again tees up host of bills to resurrect the defunct Show-Me state presidential primary

1/28/26: "House committee kills plan to reinstate Missouri presidential primary"

2/3/26: Another one bites the dust: Missouri Senate bill stripped of provision to reestablish a presidential primary

3/5/26: Missouri House Elections Committee reports amended Super Tuesday primary bill "do pass"

4/1/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill gets the green light from second Missouri House committee

4/7/26: Missouri House clears Super Tuesday presidential primary bill for final passage

4/9/26: Missouri House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

4/29/26: "Missouri Senate committee debates plan to reinstate presidential primary for 2028"

5/5/26: Missouri Senate committee gives Super Tuesday presidential primary bill the thumbs up

5/6/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill clears committee hurdle in Missouri Senate

5/28/26: Filibuster threat was the undoing of Missouri presidential primary bill

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This action has been added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Hopping back on the Missouri presidential primary merry-go-round

A newly amended bill in Jefferson City would bring the primary back to the Show-Me state and shake up Missouri's delegate selection/allocation process along the way

Super Tuesday presidential primary bill clears committee hurdle in Missouri Senate

The reinstatement of Missouri's presidential primary inched one step closer to reality on Wednesday morning, May 6, 2026. The state Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee convened to consider HB 2387/2480 among other bills and unanimously voted (8-0) in favor of the measure with a "do pass" instruction for action on the Senate floor. 

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Noteworthy: This should be the last step at the committee stage on the Senate side, clearing the legislation for consideration by the full Missouri State Senate. It also marks the furthest a presidential primary restoration bill has advanced in the legislative process in Jefferson City since the preference election was eliminated as part of an omnibus elections bill during the 2022 session of the General Assembly.

Despite the $9 million price tag on the resumption of the presidential primary, the bill saw little resistance among the membership of Fiscal Oversight. There was no debate, just the regular parliamentary procedures to raise a bill and then pass it within the hearing. That was it.

The Missouri legislature is due to adjourn next week. 

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See also: 

12/10/25: Missouri Senate bills prefiled to reinstate presidential primary

12/18/25: Missouri House again tees up host of bills to resurrect the defunct Show-Me state presidential primary

1/28/26: "House committee kills plan to reinstate Missouri presidential primary"

2/3/26: Another one bites the dust: Missouri Senate bill stripped of provision to reestablish a presidential primary

3/5/26: Missouri House Elections Committee reports amended Super Tuesday primary bill "do pass"

4/1/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill gets the green light from second Missouri House committee

4/7/26: Missouri House clears Super Tuesday presidential primary bill for final passage

4/9/26: Missouri House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

4/29/26: "Missouri Senate committee debates plan to reinstate presidential primary for 2028"

5/5/26: Missouri Senate committee gives Super Tuesday presidential primary bill the thumbs up

5/18/26: The close of the 2026 legislative session kills the latest attempt to restore Missouri's presidential primary

5/28/26: Filibuster threat was the undoing of Missouri presidential primary bill

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This action has been added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Hopping back on the Missouri presidential primary merry-go-round

A newly amended bill in Jefferson City would bring the primary back to the Show-Me state and shake up Missouri's delegate selection/allocation process along the way

Missouri Senate committee gives Super Tuesday presidential primary bill the thumbs up

The Missouri Senate Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee convened on Monday, May 4, 2026 and entered executive session to take up and consider a number of bills, including HB 2387/2480. The measure in its amended form would reestablish a state-funded and -run presidential primary election in the Show-Me state, schedule the election for Super Tuesday and legally bind the delegates to the national convention based on the results of the preference vote. 

By a 5-1 vote, the legislation was then passed by the committee with a "do pass" recommendation. Three Republicans were joined by the panel's two Democrats in moving the bill along.

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Noteworthy: The bill will not move directly to the floor for consideration by the full Senate. Instead, it will first divert through the Senate Fiscal Oversight Committee. This may or may not be a formality, but the price tag associated with funding a newly reinstituted election -- estimated at $9 million -- has created snags with similar legislation that has worked its way through the General Assembly in recent sessions and it stands out as perhaps the biggest remaining hurdle for this session's version. 

The largest looming issue remaining is that time on the 2026 session is dwindling. The General Assembly is statutorily required to adjourn by May 15. A year ago, the 2025 session gaveled out with a House-passed elections bill (with presidential primary provision) similarly sitting in the queue in committee on the Senate side. 

Does HB 2387/2480 get bottled up in Fiscal Oversight? The handful of remaining legislative days will determine that. Importantly, four of the yes votes from the Local Government, Elections and Pensions Committee also sit on the nine member Fiscal Oversight Committee.

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See also: 

12/10/25: Missouri Senate bills prefiled to reinstate presidential primary

12/18/25: Missouri House again tees up host of bills to resurrect the defunct Show-Me state presidential primary

1/28/26: "House committee kills plan to reinstate Missouri presidential primary"

2/3/26: Another one bites the dust: Missouri Senate bill stripped of provision to reestablish a presidential primary

3/5/26: Missouri House Elections Committee reports amended Super Tuesday primary bill "do pass"

4/1/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill gets the green light from second Missouri House committee

4/7/26: Missouri House clears Super Tuesday presidential primary bill for final passage

4/9/26: Missouri House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

4/29/26: "Missouri Senate committee debates plan to reinstate presidential primary for 2028"

5/6/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill clears committee hurdle in Missouri Senate

5/18/26: The close of the 2026 legislative session kills the latest attempt to restore Missouri's presidential primary

5/28/26: Filibuster threat was the undoing of Missouri presidential primary bill

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This action has been added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

--

Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

Hopping back on the Missouri presidential primary merry-go-round

A newly amended bill in Jefferson City would bring the primary back to the Show-Me state and shake up Missouri's delegate selection/allocation process along the way

Rhode Island House passes Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

Without any debate, the Rhode Island House took up and unanimously passed H 7090 on Thursday, April 30. The 62-0 vote by the members of the lower chamber would shift the presidential primary in the Ocean state from the fourth Tuesday in April to the first Tuesday in March, Super Tuesday. 

The measure now advances to the state Senate where identical legislation has also been introduced and considered in committee.

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Noteworthy: A few things on this potential change in Rhode Island:

1. As the committee chair who introduced the H 7090 on the floor noted before passage, a Super Tuesday primary would align Rhode Island with most of its New England area neighbors on the primary calendar. Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont are all already positioned on Super Tuesday. New Hampshire will continue to be an exception with an earlier primary and Connecticut has yet to make any move to join the others in March for 2028.
2. Rhode Island has not been a part of Super Tuesday since 2004. The state was one of the rare few who did not move into February to join the Super Tuesday logjam in 2008 and then moved back into April alongside a number of neighbors for 2012. It has remained on the back half of the primary calendar ever since. [One could argue that Rhode Island was not on Super Tuesday in 2004. It was a cycle in which Democrats allowed February contests and while some states took advantage of the rule change, the biggest shift to the earlier point did not occur until 2008. The effect in 2004 was to make the early March Super Tuesday a bit less crowded -- a bit less super -- and the overall calendar less frontloaded than was the case in 2000. Still, the most delegates of the 2004 cycle were at stake on the first Tuesday in March.]
3. Other chambers have passed presidential primary legislation across the country during this 2026 legislative session, but most have died along the way. Rhode Island actually shows some signs of momentum on this front. The list of legislative backers in both chambers in Providence means H 7090 will likely face a favorable audience in the upper chamber. And the unanimous vote in the House likely will not hamper that progress. 

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Related:

2/9/26: Rhode Island legislation eyeing Super Tuesday presidential primary

2/18/26: Senate companion bill would also see Rhode Island presidential primary shifted to Super Tuesday

4/7/26: "Rhode Island primary election day could change in 2026 and 2028. Here's why."

6/4/26: Rhode Island Senate committee advances Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/4/26: Super Tuesday presidential primary bill unanimously passes Rhode Island Senate

6/11/26: Rhode Island Senate committee tees up concurrence vote on Super Tuesday presidential primary bill

6/12/26: On to the governor: Super Tuesday primary bills clear final legislative hurdles in Rhode Island

6/19/26: Gov. McKee's signature moves Rhode Island presidential primary to Super Tuesday

This action will be added to the annotated 2028 presidential primary calendar over at our sister site, FHQ Plus.

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Related at FHQ Plus (subscription)...

The Annotated 2028 Presidential Primary Calendar

Tracking the evolution of the timeline of delegate selection events that will determine the next presidential nominees