Democrats' 2028 presidential calendar gives Black and Latino voters and union members an early say

The useful part

Democrats seeking the party's 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. New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia round out the early states, throughout February, according to the plan endorsed by the Democratic National Committee at its meeting in Texas. Some potential candidates in what is expected to be a large field have visited early-voting states such as South Carolina.

How it works

• "They 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," said party...
• "Whoever survives will be battle-tested." Former presidential candidate Howard Dean, a onetime Vermont governor, recalled his tenure as national party chairman, when Democrats solidified Nevada and South...
• Party leaders have said the order give candidates the best shot at winning back the White House after Republican President Donald Trump's second term.
• "These states look more like the country," as a whole, he said, "whereas Iowa and New Hampshire don't." Rita Hart, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, said bypassing her state in the early going wo...

Details worth keeping

DNC Chairman Ken Martin said that to win the general election, "You 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." That is why the calendar designed by the party matters, he said in an interview.