DNC chair candidate calls on committee to maintain nominating calendar

Democratic National Committee chair candidate James Skoufis called on the committee to maintain its current presidential nominating calendar that puts South Carolina first.

The New York state senator argued in a memo exclusively obtained by The Hill on Tuesday that opening the primaries with South Carolina, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire, “better reflects the diversity of our party and our nation and places voters who are the backbone of our party–but with whom ties have frayed–front and center.”

“The 2024 primary season did not provide a genuine opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of our new calendar,” Skoufis wrote, noting that with President Biden as the incumbent candidate largely in control of the party, “the primaries lacked the competitive nature necessary for a true assessment.”

Biden handily won the Democratic presidential primary contests, but Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also made primary runs. Kennedy switched to run as an independent in October of 2023, prior to the state primary contests kicking off.

“South Carolina has been placed at the forefront of the presidential nominating process. I believe they deserve a genuine opportunity for a competitive primary,” Skoufis said. “The contest between Dean Phillips and Joe Biden was not a serious primary. So let's have one.”

Skoufis’s memo comes as a number of Democratic National Committee members have expressed an openness to changing the primary calendar just after it was reshuffled ahead of the party’s presidential primary. According to NBC News, at least half a dozen committee members, state chairs, and officials have said there will be a reexamination of the order of the states ahead of the 2028 primary.

Other players within the party, including Nevada’s Democratic Party, are calling on the committee to keep diversity in mind when it comes to the nominating calendar.

“Nevada is the battleground state that best reflects our growing nation and the Democratic Party cannot afford to let overwhelmingly college-educated, white, or less competitive states start the process of winnowing the field again in 2028,” the Silver State party’s chair, Daniele Monroe-Moreno, wrote in a memo last week. “This will be one of the DNC’s primary responsibilities over the next two years, and it’s crucial that we set an early window and primary calendar that puts us in the best position to win back the White House.”

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