Is New Hampshire still the first-in-the-nation primary in 2028?

Not on the Democratic National Committee's calendar. On July 24, 2026, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee placed South Carolina first on January 22, 2028, Nevada second on February 1, and New Hampshire third on February 8. New Hampshire state law, RSA 653:9, still requires the state's primary to be held at least seven days before any similar election in another state.

What is the 2028 Democratic primary calendar order?

South Carolina on January 22, Nevada on February 1, New Hampshire on February 8, New Mexico on February 15, Michigan on February 22, and Virginia on February 29. It is the first time the Democratic calendar has included six early states.

How many votes did New Hampshire's bid to go first receive?

Four. New Hampshire's bid for the first position on the 2028 calendar received four votes on the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.

Will New Hampshire hold its primary first anyway in 2028?

Yes. New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan has said the state will follow its law and 106-year-old tradition of holding the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, stating that he is sworn to uphold it and intends to do so for the 2028 calendar. The DNC calendar does not set New Hampshire's election dates; RSA 653:9 does.

What does RSA 653:9 say about the New Hampshire primary?

RSA 653:9 requires the presidential primary to be held on a date selected by the secretary of state that is seven days or more before any other state holds a similar election. The statute states that its purpose is to protect the tradition of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

July 24, 2026 · Washington, D.C.

Democrats say New Hampshire is too white to vote first.

So they demoted us to third. That is their reason, in their own press releases: this state does not look the way they want it to look.

And New Hampshire's Democrats — two U.S. Senators, two members of Congress, a party chairman on the national committee — got rolled. Our bid for first drew four votes. They sent a letter. They lost. They fell in line.

We're going first anyway.

SEE WHAT THEY DID

Why They Did It, In Their Own Words

Democrats looked at New Hampshire and decided we are the wrong kind of state.

They do not deny it. The whole justification for demoting New Hampshire is that our voters do not look the way national Democrats want their voters to look. Here is how they say it out loud.

“Just like my Administration, the Democratic Party has worked hard to reflect the diversity of America — but our nominating process does not.”

Joe Biden · Letter to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee

He wrote that early states “must reflect the overall diversity of our party and our nation — economically, geographically, demographically.” New Hampshire was demoted the next cycle. Read the sentence again and ask which box Democrats decided you fail.

“The most diverse calendar Democrats have ever had for an open nominating contest.”

Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt Jr. · DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee co-chairs

That is the boast they issued while burying New Hampshire in third. The press wrote it even plainer: the overhaul replaced two heavily white states at the top of the calendar with states Democrats consider more suitable.

Strip out the press-release language and here is what national Democrats are telling Granite Staters:

Your state is too white to vote first.

Not that you voted wrong. Not that you ran a bad election. New Hampshire has run a clean, high-turnout, retail-politics primary for 106 years, and Democrats sorted this state by demographics and found it wanting. They are not hiding it. They put it in a press release and called it progress.

Sources: President Biden's letter to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee; statement of RBC co-chairs Minyon Moore and James Roosevelt Jr., July 24, 2026; contemporaneous reporting by NBC News, NPR, and CNN.

The 2028 Calendar They Voted For

Six early states — the most ever. Democrats padded the calendar with states they can count on, then buried New Hampshire in the middle of it.

South Carolina

January 22

Nevada

February 1

New Hampshire

First in the nation since 1920. Third on their calendar.

February 8

New Mexico

February 15

Michigan

February 22

Virginia

February 29

Votes New Hampshire's bid for the first spot received on the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee.

1920

The year New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary tradition began. It held through every presidential election since.

Days New Hampshire now waits after South Carolina under the calendar national Democrats approved.

What New Hampshire Law Says

The first-in-the-nation primary is not a courtesy the DNC extends to us. It is written into state law.

RSA 653:9 · Presidential Primary Election

“The presidential primary election shall be held… on a date selected by the secretary of state which is 7 days or more immediately preceding the date on which any other state shall hold a similar election…”

“The purpose of this section is to protect the tradition of the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation presidential primary.”

New Hampshire's Secretary of State has said he will follow that law and set the primary first, regardless of what the DNC decided. National Democrats built a penalty system to punish the state for doing exactly that.

In Their Own Words

“This is a calendar this party is actually going to protect… it's not going to be a wink and a nod.”

Ken Martin · Chair, Democratic National Committee

“Today's vote shows that many party insiders have learned nothing from 2024.”

Raymond Buckley · Chair, NH Democratic Party

He is right about that. His party did this to New Hampshire in 2024. He sat on the national committee, watched it happen, and could not stop them from doing it again two years later. That is the influence New Hampshire Democrats actually have in their own party: none.

Democrats decided your vote matters less. Then they asked for it anyway.

Every Democrat on your ballot belongs to the party that did this. They sent letters, lost, and fell in line — the same thing they do in Concord every time Washington tells them to. See the record.

FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE VIEW THE SCORECARD

Sources

DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee vote on the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, July 24, 2026.

New Hampshire RSA 653:9, Presidential Primary Election.

Reporting: New Hampshire Public Radio, InDepthNH, The Boston Globe, NOTUS, Ballotpedia, New Hampshire Union Leader.

Here Is Our Answer

We're going first
anyway.

The DNC can vote all it likes. It does not set New Hampshire's election dates. New Hampshire law does.

They can keep their calendar, their fine, and their opinion of how our state looks. The first ballots of 2028 are getting cast right here, the way they have been for 106 years.

“New Hampshire will follow its law and 106-year-old tradition of holding the First-in-the-Nation Presidential Primary.”

David Scanlan · New Hampshire Secretary of State

“I'm sworn to uphold that, and I intend to do so when it comes to the 2028 calendar.”

Secretary of State David Scanlan

“We will not back down from defending New Hampshire's place in history, and I look forward to hosting the first primaries for both parties in 2028.”

Gov. Kelly Ayotte

Fine us. Refuse our delegates. Threaten anyone who dares talk to a Granite Stater. New Hampshire is going first anyway, and there is not one thing the Democratic National Committee can do about it.

Statements of Secretary of State David Scanlan and Gov. Kelly Ayotte, July 24, 2026. New Hampshire RSA 653:9.