Overview
- The DNC approved the plan on Saturday, August 15, 2026, setting South Carolina (Jan. 22, 2028), Nevada (Feb. 1), New Hampshire (Feb. 8), New Mexico (Feb. 15), Michigan (Feb. 22) and Virginia (Feb. 29) as the early 2028 lineup.
- The calendar removes Iowa from the early sequence and replaces it with states chosen to increase representation of Black, Latino, AANHPI and Native American voters.
- Party materials say the selected states together include about 4.6 million Black voters and 4.2 million Latino voters, figures the DNC used to justify the diversity claim.
- The DNC argued the window keeps the field open and affordable by frontloading compact states and lower-cost media markets such as South Carolina and Nevada.
- The vote formalizes a plan that could draw legal or political pushback from New Hampshire and Iowa and that the DNC may enforce with penalties like fines, delegate losses or debate limits.