"These Are the 12 States Vying to Kick Off Democrats’ 2028 Contest"

Reid Epstein, Lisa Lerer and Shane Goldmacher at The New York Times shed light on the 12 states that are vying for four or five early slots on the 2028 Democratic presidential primary calendar:

"Democrats in 12 states have applied to kick off the party’s 2028 presidential primary contest, pushing arguments about race, geography, size, diversity, the rural-urban divide and their relative status as battlegrounds, according to copies of hundreds of pages of application materials reviewed by The New York Times.

"The Democratic National Committee, which will decide the order, has said that one state from each of four regions will hold nominating contests in the so-called early window, the month before Super Tuesday. A bonus fifth state could also be selected. State parties in these places applied:

"West: Nevada and New Mexico

"South: Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia

"Midwest: Illinois, Iowa and Michigan

"East: New Hampshire and Delaware."

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Noteworthy: Fewer state parties submitted applications in 2026 as compared to 2022. Then, there were 20 state and territorial parties that threw their hats in the ring to be considered for early spots on the 2024 Democratic presidential primary calendar. Of those 20 from 2022, eight (8) state parties submitted applications again for the 2028 process (in alphabetical order): Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Four states submitted applications for early window consideration for the first time this time around: New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. 

But why were there fewer applicants in 2026 relative to the process in 2022? 

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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