One DNC member said DNC Chair Ken Martin told them he wanted the primary calendar to be sorted out quickly, potentially as soon as the end of 2025 or early 2026.
The shadow primary for president in 2028 is suddenly igniting a more immediate campaign: the fight among states to hold the first nominating contest.
South Carolina hosted more than a half-dozen potential candidates this summer. Another half-dozen dropped into New Hampshire, including Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego on Friday. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Rep. Ro Khanna of California both popped into Nevada this month. Michigan and Iowa are getting in on the action, too.
All of that activity is putting pressure on the Democratic National Committee to move quickly to set the presidential primary calendar because “candidates need the rules of the road,” said Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), who was elected to the DNC’s powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee, charged with setting the presidential primary calendar.
“Candidates are going to be strategic, and the calendar is a big factor for them,” Dingell said. “People need to know, we’ve already got people campaigning.”
Boosters for some early states are planning to meet with DNC members and other fellow early state representatives on the sidelines of the national party’s summer meeting in Minneapolis this week, according to three people involved in the discussions. And even though the primary calendar isn’t actually on the committee’s agenda, they said it would clearly dominate informal conversations. As one member put it, the behind-the-scenes lobbying blitz is going to “explode” once everyone is in one place for the DNC meeting.