Politics

South Carolina’s early state status is far from secure. But 2028 Dems are going anyway.

Published

11 months ago

July 19, 2025

PAWLEYS ISLAND, South Carolina — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear drew a standing ovation from Georgetown County Democrats Thursday night, after he shook hands and grinned for photos. California Gov. Gavin Newsom packed standing-room-only crowds into a two-day rural county tour of the state last week. California Rep. Ro Khanna kicked off his multi-day swing Friday to promote his populist message to Black voters.

The 2028 Democratic primary calendar isn’t set yet, but presidential hopefuls are already making bets that South Carolina will hold a powerful role in the nomination process — even if it doesn’t keep its number-one spot. While Iowa and New Hampshire are drawing some big names, no other state has seen as much action as this small Southern state.

And while these top Democrats credited their appearances to local invitations — and in the case of Beshear, his son’s baseball tournament in Charleston — the 2028 implications are clear. Democratic hopefuls road-tested stump speeches and previewed their lines of attack against Republicans and President Donald Trump, all with an eye toward introducing themselves to a set of influential voters.

“I’m out there trying to be a common ground, common sense, get-things-done type of messenger for this Democratic Party,” Beshear told elected officials and party officials in Charleston Thursday morning. “Because I believe that with what we’re seeing coming out of Washington, D.C., the cruelty and the incompetence, that the path forward is right there in front of us.”

Christy Waddil, a 67-year-old Democratic voter who waited to shake Beshear’s hand Thursday night, said she was “excited” to meet all these potential contenders. But it’s a lot of responsibility to be the first state in the presidential primary calendar, she said: “We have our work cut out for us now.”

In June, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly spoke at an anti-gun event in Charleston to mark the grim anniversary of the Emanuel AME shooting. In May, Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Tim Walz of Minnesota headlined a pair of state party events to rub elbows with Rep. Jim Clyburn, the longtime South Carolina kingmaker whose nod helped anoint Joe Biden as the party’s nominee in 2020.

“It’s not a surprise,” said Clyburn when asked about the state’s revolving door of 2028 hopefuls nearly three years before the actual presidential primary. “Why argue with success? If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”

South Carolina Democrats know their grip on the top spot is tenuous, with traditional early states like Iowa and New Hampshire eager to reclaim their lead-off position, and others —like North Carolina and Georgia — seeking to emerge as new states to consider. And it comes as there’s been a major reshuffling on a powerful panel at the Democratic National Committee that has huge sway over the presidential nominating process.

“None of what those supposed candidates are doing right now is going to have any bearing on what the Rules and Bylaws Committee ultimately does for the calendar,” said Maria Cardona, a longtime member of the powerful panel. “That may or may not include all of the states that are in the early calendar now.”

Democrats haven’t won the state in a general election since 1976, and President Donald Trump won it by 18 points last year.

Gov. Gavin Newsom gives remarks to a crowd at St. Paul First Baptist Church on July 9, 2025, in Laurens, South Carolina.

It’s led more competitive neighbors to wonder whether they should get top billing instead.

“[National Democrats] have a lot of mobility to get power back at the federal level by investing early in North Carolina. And I think a lot of people will hear that message loud and clear, especially after we just got our asses kicked,”said state party chair Anderson Clayton, who is interested in usurping its neighbor to the south and angling for one of the open at-large slots on the RBC. “The future of the state of the Democratic Party also runs right through North Carolina too.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will deliver the keynote address at North Carolina’s state party unity dinner on July 26, and state party leaders are in talks with Sens. Kelly of Arizona and Cory Booker of New Jersey about visits to the state later this year.

But moving the order of primary states is easier said than done. North Carolina is hamstrung by state law from moving its date, and Democrats would need the GOP-controlled legislature to agree to any changes. DNC members have also emphasized smaller states to allow lesser-known candidates to build followings.

“The most powerful force in the universe is inertia, so South Carolina is probably the favorite to stay just because of that,” said an incoming member of the committee granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. “Every state has a chance to be first, but I do think we have to come into this with a degree of realism.”

The DNC is attempting to remain neutral.

“The DNC is committed to running a fair, transparent, and rigorous process for the 2028 primary calendar. All states will have an opportunity to participate,” Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman said in a statement.

Iowa Democrats are also gearing up on a bid to restore their caucuses to their traditional spot as the nation’s first presidential contest. Michigan replaced Iowa as the Midwestern early state in 2024.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said she planned to have “tough and direct conversations” with the party in a statement, even as the DNC removed Iowa’s only representative, Scott Brennan, from the Rules and Bylaws Committee this year.

Already, potential 2028 candidates have traveled there, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who held a town hall in Cedar Rapids in May. Walz stopped by the Hawkeye State in March, and former Japan Ambassador Rahm Emanuel and freshman Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego are both slated to visit the state in the coming months.

New Hampshire Democrats also openly clashed with top DNC officials last cycle — and plan to stick with their state law making it first primary in the nation. Pritzker went to an influential state party dinner there in April.

“The potential candidates on the Democratic side and, to some extent, the Republican side are coming through New Hampshire,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said in a brief interview.

Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) speaks to voters in South Carolina.

The positioning at the national party over early states is already underway.

Party insiders are voting for the remaining open seats on the panel after DNC Chair Ken Martin named members to the governing body in recent weeks. Cardona said the goal of the committee is to ensure the strongest and most electable candidate emerges from what is expected to be a crowded field. Talks will begin on the next presidential primary calendar later this year, but will ramp up after the midterms.

South Carolina’s ascension was aimed at recognizing South Carolina’s significant Black electorate, long considered the backbone of the Democratic Party.

That’s partly why Khanna is there, he said in an interview on why he is focusing on reaching out to Black voters.

“I believe that’s critical for all the people who want to lead the Democratic Party, in whatever form, and to me it’s encouraging that people are going down to South Carolina” to reach them.

Beshear, too, expressed support for South Carolina’s representation, telling reporters that Democrats “need to make sure that the South is represented in the primary calendar” because “for too long, the investments haven’t been made in places like Kentucky and in places like South Carolina.”

In defense of remaining in the early window, South Carolina Democrats are playing up the state’s diverse electorate and inexpensive media markets that could allow for the best presidential candidates — not just the best fundraisers — to emerge in a wide open presidential cycle in 2028.

“The Democratic primary for president is not based on the state’s competitiveness in a general election,” said Parmley. “This is the same bullshit that loses us presidential elections, and we only play in eight competitive states.”

Lisa Kashinsky and Kelly Garrity contributed to this report.

Politics

Rep. April McClain Delaney wins bitter primary to keep her Maryland House seat

Published

4 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. April McClain Delaney won her bitter and expensive Democratic primary for Maryland’s 6th District on Tuesday, denying her predecessor, former Rep. David Trone, from making a comeback.

The race drew $23 million in TV spending, with much of that coming from the candidates directly, and became a microcosm of the Democratic Party’s clashes over President Donald Trump, money in politics and immigration.

McClain Delaney, who is serving her first term in Congress, had the backing of the rest of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation, along with Gov. Wes Moore.

Trone announced he would challenge McClain Delaney in December, citing in part her vote for the Laken Riley Act, a Republican-led immigration bill. McClain Delaney later said she regretted the vote, saying she hadn’t imagined “the horror” of Trump’s immigration enforcement would come to pass.

Trone almost entirely self-funded his attempt to return to Congress. He previously represented the 6th District for three terms but gave up his seat to run for Senate in 2024, losing in the primary to now-Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). McClain Delaney, who is married to former Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.), won an open primary and was elected to the seat that year.

The seat is considered safe for Democrats for the midterms. McClain Delaney won by a bit more than 6 points in 2024.

Politics

Hoyer alum Adrian Boafo wins Maryland House primary with help of crypto, pro-Israel money

Published

6 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Maryland state Del. Adrian Boafo won the Democratic primary Tuesday to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer in the 5th District, aided by $11 million from pro-crypto and pro-Israel groups.

Boafo was Hoyer’s preferred successor and his former campaign manager. The primary was marked by intraparty divisions over heavy outside spending and what may be the last intraparty fight between Hoyer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who endorsed a rival in the race.

United Democracy Project, a super PAC associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, pumped $5.7 million into the race to promote Boafo, becoming the single biggest spender on the airwaves. Protect Progress, a super PAC aligned with the crypto industry, poured $5.5 million into the race, largely to benefit Boafo, a former federal lobbyist for the tech firm Oracle.

This spending in the crowded 24-candidate field drew the ire of many of Boafo’s rivals. Three of them — Harry Dunn, Rushern Baker and Quincy Bareebe — took the unusual step of jointly denouncing the interest groups’ efforts to influence the primary outcome. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a potential 2028 presidential contender who did not endorse in the race, also accused the groups of trying to buy the seat.

Boafo’s victory now stands as a major win for the powerful arm of the pro-Israel lobby that’s drawn heavy scrutiny from some Democrats over its aggressive tactics in this year’s primary contests, as well as for Hoyer in getting his handpicked successor for his seat.