DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee moves all 12 states vying for early state status for 2028 to next stage
State parties will now make in-person presentations to the panel for inclusion in the early window
From FHQ: [DNC press release] DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee Votes to Advance 12 States to Next Phase of 2028 Presidential Calendar Selection Process
The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) convened on the sidelines of the DNC meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico this weekend to consider the applications of states bidding for one of four or five slots in the early window of the 2028 presidential primary calendar.
The quick take from the morning session was that all twelve states that applied for the honor were advanced to the presentation stage, where each state party will make an in-person case for inclusion in the early window before the full RBC. That differed from the process four years ago when three states were trimmed from a pool of 20 applicants at this point in the process.
None of the 2028 twelve -- Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia -- fell into that category at this meeting. None were deemed too large as New York was when the Empire state was cut in 2022. None had the complication of proposing an earlier state party-run caucus in a state with an existing (but later) state-run primary (Nebraska). And Democrats Abroad did not apply this time around as they did during the 2024 cycle.
None of the 2028 twelve had those issues, but that is not to say that there were and are no issues involved.
So what was the point of the meeting if all the states were going to advance to the presentation stage?
It was to raise those issues that the committee has for all twelve early state candidates collectively and individually address in their presentations to the panel.
Feasibility was key. Basically, how can you get your state in an early position on the calendar? How can barriers be overcome? So, in other words, for the more Republican-leaning states in the pool, how can Republican veto points -- legislatures, governors, secretaries of state -- be circumvented or Republican buy-in won?
Additionally, the RBC appeared intent on approaching the early calendar as a process that will tell a story about the Democratic Party, its constituency groups and priorities. However, given the feasibility issues raised above, the options will be somewhat limited on which states the DNC can actually get into or out of the early window. A lot, then, is going to fall on any would-be fifth state that gets thrust into the mix. That state will likely be the focal point of this “story,” or at least the fifth chapter in it (especially if it is the only one that differs from a mostly carried over lineup of early states).
And another point was raised as well; something FHQ has mentioned previously: just because the southern region had the most applicants does not ensure that any fifth state will come from that regional subgroup. It may, but there is no guarantee if that is not the “story” that the RBC and the Democratic Party as a whole wants to tell.
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The RBC will next meet at the DNC meeting in New Orleans in early April. It is not clear at this time that the panel will conduct the presentations there or focus on the 2028 delegate selection rules that were placed on the back burner in Puerto Rico in the absence of committee co-chair Jim Roosevelt. If the 2024 process is any guide, then a stand-alone meeting of the RBC will be scheduled outside of any DNC meeting for the early state presentations.