Democrats just set the opening scene for 2028—and the party's left flank is not applauding. A key Democratic National Committee rules panel voted Friday to make South Carolina the first presidential primary state, sidelining Nevada and igniting fears among progressives that the move is designed to blunt another Bernie Sanders–style bid. South Carolina is where Sanders was trounced in both 2016 and 2020, and one panel member told Axios the choice risks "shutting down" a progressive contender rather than reflecting "the winds of change" while "the public is swinging left."
The fight is layered with questions of ideology and race. Critics on the left, including Jacobin writer Branko Marcetic and streamer Hasan Piker, see the decision as an establishment play to block a "left-wing insurgent," while some DNC members reportedly worried Nevada's first-in-the-nation status could turbocharge a socialist candidate. Sanders easily won the Nevada caucuses in 2020 with help from organized labor allies, Puck notes. Earlier that month, Sanders won the New Hampshire primaries, with Joe Biden finishing fifth. But Biden went on to score a resounding victory in South Carolina, finishing ahead of Sanders in every county.
South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain, a former Sanders staffer, argues that a progressive such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could "absolutely" win there—if they master retail politics in the South. The full DNC still has to ratify the calendar, but the deeper test for progressives remains whether they can finally break through with the older Black voters who dominate Southern primaries.
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