In a stunning act of defending “democracy,” the Democratic National Committee (DNC) rules panel looked deep into its soul, consulted itself, and decided the first presidential primary of 2028 would be…South Carolina. This will maintain what CNN calls the “Black voters’ prominent position on the calendar.” The final vote on the issue will come next month.

Last Friday’s vote capped off months of aggressive organizing by Nevada, South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa, all of which were seeking the coveted first-in-the-nation spot for 2028.

Progressives wanted Nevada but they lost. South Carolina will have its primary before the rest of the states on January 22, 2028. And then it’s Nevada (Feb 1), New Hampshire (Feb 8), New Mexico (Feb 15), Michigan (Feb 22) and Virginia (Feb 29). After that, the other states have their contests starting on March 7 with Super Tuesday.

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The decision wasn’t unanimous. The DNC’s 49-member Rules and Bylaws Committee voted 26-19 to give South Carolina the coveted first-in-the-nation primary (Nevada got the 19 votes), with New Hampshire receiving four votes. The narrow margin highlighted the divide within the party, as progressives pushed for Nevada while establishment Democrats rallied behind SC. The full DNC is expected to vote on the recommendation in August.

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The winner – South Carolina – is the state that rescued Joe Biden’s campaign from being on life support in 2020. After horrible finishes in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada (where Bernie Sanders was prevailing), Biden’s White House hopes were fading fast until a decisive South Carolina victory, powered by overwhelming support from Black voters and a crucial endorsement from Rep. Jim Clyburn, completely changed the race. Within days, moderate rivals dropped out, endorsements poured in, and Biden went from political obituary to Democratic nominee.

The DNC’s message to its progressive wing after the Rules and Bylaws Committee vote on Friday, July 24, was clear: when the establishment and the party’s donor class have a preference, that’s the preference that wins. Progressives were left on the losing side with one of the winners being Kamala Harris, who will most likely get an early advantage if she decides to run for the presidency again.

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Cue the progressive tweets about “corporate Democrats” and “ignoring the base,” followed by the usual round of strongly worded statements.

Traditionalists weren’t happy either.

So after months of speeches about democracy, representation and supposedly listening to the grassroots, the DNC’s answer was to reward SC with the prize and tell everyone else to take a back seat.