Virginia voters may get a say in picking the next Democratic presidential nominee before most of the country does.
The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted today (Friday) to give the Commonwealth one of six spots in the early window of the party’s 2028 presidential nominating calendar. Virginia would go last of the six, on Feb. 29, 2028 — leap day.
The proposed order:
- South Carolina, Jan. 22, 2028
- Nevada, Feb. 1, 2028
- New Hampshire, Feb. 8, 2028
- New Mexico, Feb. 15, 2028
- Michigan, Feb. 22, 2028
- Virginia, Feb. 29, 2028
All six would vote before Super Tuesday. The committee’s decision still needs sign-off from the full DNC, which meets Aug. 13-15.
It would also take action in Richmond. Virginia’s presidential primary is set by state law for the first Tuesday in March, which in 2028 falls on March 7. Democrats control the House of Delegates, the state Senate and the governor’s office.
Virginia voted on Super Tuesday in 2024 and 2020, sharing the day with more than a dozen other states. An early slot would give candidates a reason to campaign here in person — and local Democrats have already begun sizing up the field. U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg topped a straw poll at the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s picnic earlier this month.
Sen. Mark Warner (D) called the decision a vote of confidence in Virginia and its voters.
“We are a competitive Southern battleground where campaigns have to do the hard work of listening, organizing, and building broad coalitions in order to win,” Warner said in a statement. “A candidate who can compete in Virginia can compete anywhere.”
Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), a onetime DNC chairman, was part of the team that presented Virginia’s case to the committee.
“This decision recognizes that Virginia is uniquely positioned to test the candidates seeking to lead our party and our country,” McAuliffe said in a statement. “The road to the White House will now run through the Mother of Presidents.”
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) said in a statement that Virginia’s diversity, economic strength and political importance have too often been taken for granted in the presidential process.
The DNC called the six-state lineup the most diverse early window the party has had for an open nominating contest, citing census figures for Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, young, non-college, union and military voters across the six states. The committee amended its own rules to expand the window from four or five states to six, pointing to the number of strong applications it received.
South Carolina was selected Friday to once again lead off the Democratic Party’s 2028 presidential nominating schedule, most likely cementing a dramatic break from decades of tradition by keeping Iowa off the top of the calendar and elevating more racially diverse states.
South Carolina or Nevada had been expected to go first, with each state aggressively campaigning for the coveted spot. President Joe Biden successfully pushed to move South Carolina to the front of Democrats’ 2024 calendar after the state revived his struggling 2020 presidential campaign.
The decision will also shape the opening stage of what is expected to be a crowded Democratic presidential primary. Without an incumbent or clear front-runner, the states that vote first could once again play an outsized role in determining which candidates gain momentum, attract donors and emerge as viable contenders. There has not been a truly open Democratic presidential primary — without an incumbent president or a dominant front-runner — in almost two decades.
Republicans still need to do their calendar. They’re expected to stick with their traditional early-state lineup led off by Iowa and New Hampshire.
Virginia does not register voters by party. Any registered voter can cast a ballot in either party’s presidential primary — but not both.
