As the DNC chooses the 2028 primary order, NH makes its case for first

New Hampshire is planning on holding the first-in-the-nation presidential primary once again in 2028 — whether the rest of the country likes it or not.

The Democratic National Committee will likely decide the order of its 2028 presidential calendar by the end of the year, and states that wish to hold a presidential primary or caucus before Super Tuesday must submit their plans to the Rules and Bylaws Committee by Jan. 16, 2026.

New Hampshire has held the first primary since 1920 — even in 2024, when the DNC wanted South Carolina to go first instead. The state is applying to go first again in 2028, but officials have said it doesn’t really matter what the DNC decides: New Hampshire will be going first no matter what, as mandated by a state law passed in 1975.

“Whether or not it is sanctioned or not, is really the conversation,” New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said.

The Republican National Committee is also set to decide on their 2028 calendar by September, but former NH GOP Chairman Chris Ager, who is on a committee to promote the primary, said he’s “very confident” New Hampshire will remain first.

“We’ve heard no movement whatsoever by anyone on the RNC to change the presidential primary process,” Ager said.

The New Hampshire Republican and Democratic primaries are typically held on the same day.

The DNC calendar controversy

For years, the Democrats’ early window of voting included four states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. But following the 2020 Iowa caucuses, which were plagued by reporting delays and inaccuracies, the DNC voted to remake its calendar.

Based on a recommendation from then-President Joe Biden, the DNC chose South Carolina to lead off the 2024 Democratic presidential primaries, saying it reflected the nation’s racial diversity. But New Hampshire refused to break tradition and held an unsanctioned primary Jan. 23, 2024, before South Carolina’s primary. Biden’s name was absent from the ballot in New Hampshire, but he won anyway through a write-in campaign led by state Democrats. The DNC later voted to count New Hampshire‘s delegates.

The DNC suggested it would revisit the order ahead of the 2028 presidential election cycle, and the Rules and Bylaws Committee is now soliciting applications from states that want to be part of the early nominating window in 2028. The committee will then choose 10-15 states that will be allowed to make their case for why they should go early, Buckley said, adding around 30 states applied last election cycle. Up to five states will ultimately be chosen to vote before Super Tuesday.

The committee is emphasizing the need to create a system that elevates viable candidates who can win a general election.

“As we go through this process the real question we face is asking each state why including them in the early window, pre-window period, helps us elect a Democratic president and win the election,” committee member Stuart Appelbaum said at a Monday, Oct. 27, meeting. “That is the prime criteria that we will be looking at in making our decision.”

The committee will be looking at three pillars — rigor, fairness and efficiency — to determine the order.

Why should NH go first?

Buckley said that the chosen states will make their case to hold an early primary sometime from April to June.

New Hampshire‘s presentation will focus on what makes New Hampshire unique, he said.

“We are a very purple state. We are not a blue state, we’re not a red state, we’re a state where we’re competitive at every level,” Buckley said. “And that is an important test for our candidates to be able to attract independent voters and independent support during the nominating process.”

Vetting candidates at small forums is a long tradition in New Hampshire, and it will be particularly important in 2028 as Democrats face a wide-open field of potential candidates.

In 2024, because New Hampshire didn’t have a sanctioned primary, Biden didn’t visit the state and wasn’t scrutinized in the way candidates usually are by New Hampshire voters. Biden ended up dropping out of the race in July due to concerns about his age following a disastrous debate performance.

“In 2024, bypassing New Hampshire meant that you didn’t have a real selection for any candidate in the Democratic Party, because it was a foregone conclusion as to who would be the nominee, and New Hampshire didn’t get its typical opportunity to vet the candidates,” said University of New Hampshire Survey Center director Andy Smith. “Which, in hindsight, would have been a very good thing to have done.”

New Hampshire voters take their role in this process seriously, Buckley said. The state sees a high level of turnout in primary elections, and as a small state with an affordable path to getting on the ballot, New Hampshire allows all candidates regardless of fame or wealth the opportunity to establish themselves as viable.

“New Hampshire does democracy better than anywhere else in the world, which is why it remains the best place to kick off the presidential primary process,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-NH, in a statement.

While Buckley acknowledges that diversity plays an important role in the nominating process, he said that’s why they supported the expansion of the early primary states to include South Carolina and Nevada.

Buckley said that they aren’t going to focus on the state law mandating New Hampshire go first in their argument to the DNC. But it will come into play if they aren’t chosen to go first.

“The secretary of state basically can just look at the legislative calendars of all the other states, see when they’re going to have their primaries, and just move ours a week before theirs,” Smith said. “So, New Hampshire will have the first-in-the-nation primary. Again, whether or not that’s sanctioned by the Democratic Party is the big question.”

Will the DNC approve of NH going first?

The exact 2028 primary calendar likely won’t be set until the end of the year. But Smith thinks there’s a “good chance” the DNC will allow New Hampshire to go first.

“I’d say they certainly would be receptive to going back to the schedule that they used for the last several decades,” Smith said. “The history of New Hampshire being first and successfully being first is a strong argument to make.”

Neither he nor Buckley think the drama of 2024 will affect the DNC’s decision this year.

Another sign New Hampshire might get to go first? Potential presidential candidates, like Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-AZ., and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, have already made visits to the Granite State.

“There’s a pretty positive vibe out there,” Buckley said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Margie Cullen. Contributing: Brianne Pfannenstiel, Howard Altschiller