Georgia Democrats are again pressing for a coveted place near the front of the 2028 presidential primary calendar. But even if party leaders approve a lineup shift this week, there’s no guarantee Georgians will vote early in the nominating contest.
The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee could vote as soon as Friday on what states will open the party’s presidential nominating process. The full DNC could then give a final sign-off in August.
But any overhaul must first overcome a familiar obstacle: Georgia Democrats can’t set the primary date themselves. State law gives that authority to the secretary of state, and the official who will hold that office in 2028 won’t be elected until November.
Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s refusal to move Georgia’s 2024 primary doomed the last effort. This time, party leaders say the dynamic has changed — and they’re making the case that an earlier vote benefits both parties as Republicans will also have a wide-open primary for president.
“Georgia will be the premier battleground and a must-win for Democrats in 2028,” said Charlie Bailey, the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “We know that Georgia is the right choice for the early nominating calendar because a Democratic candidate who can win the broad, diverse coalition we have here in Georgia can win the White House.”
Georgia is one of 12 states jockeying for four or five places in the early window, along with Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
The DNC requires at least one state from each of its four geographic regions to host a primary before Super Tuesday, putting Georgia in competition with four other Southern contenders. South Carolina and Nevada, in particular, are mounting aggressive campaigns to capture the first vote, while Virginia is among Georgia’s biggest rivals for a spot in the early-vote window.
Party leaders argue presidential contenders should have to prove early on that they can build the sort of multiracial coalition needed to win in November. Georgia’s changing demographics fit that bill. The latest U.S. Census data shows 52% of Georgia’s population is nonwhite.
The DNC panel of 49 insiders is judging states on three broad criteria: whether they offer a rigorous test among voters crucial to winning a general election; whether campaigning there would be affordable and practical; and whether the state can conduct an accessible, transparent contest.
Georgia’s size and Atlanta’s costly media market could cut both ways. It would give candidates an early test in a large, complex Southern state. But it could also favor better-funded campaigns over lesser-known contenders trying to use the primaries as a springboard.
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
An early slot would give Georgia’s political leaders and voters a louder voice in shaping the Democratic contest. The state is home to U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who are both considered potential 2028 presidential contenders. On the Republican side, Gov. Brian Kemp is often mentioned as a candidate to watch.
It also could pack a financial punch. A 2023 economic analysis paid for by supporters of an earlier primary estimated it could generate as much as $375 million in spending in 2028 and support more than 4,000 jobs.
Separately, Atlanta is also a finalist to host the Democratic National Convention in 2028, and many of the state’s leaders have united behind the city’s bid.
‘We run great elections’
Georgia is reviving an effort that collapsed ahead of the 2024 election.
At then-President Joe Biden’s urging, the DNC approved a calendar placing South Carolina first, followed by New Hampshire and Nevada, then Georgia and Michigan. (New Hampshire still held an unsanctioned primary before South Carolina, where Biden won a write-in vote.)
The overhaul aimed to elevate Black voters and other minority groups that better reflect the party than the overwhelmingly white electorates of New Hampshire and Iowa, the latter of which staged disastrous caucuses in 2020.
Raffensperger refused to schedule separate contests or select a date that could cost either party delegates to conventions. That’s because the GOP already set a different lineup and threatened penalties against states that jumped ahead.
Credit: abcutrer@gmail.com
Credit: abcutrer@gmail.com
Kemp also washed his hands of the idea, leaving Democrats without a prominent Republican who could help negotiate with the national GOP.
Raffensperger ultimately scheduled Georgia’s primary for March 12, one week after Super Tuesday. Biden and Republican Donald Trump each clinched their nominations that day, but both contests were effectively over by then.
The next attempt to overhaul the schedule will unfold under different circumstances. Raffensperger will be out of office after an unsuccessful bid for governor, and voters will decide in November whether Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming or Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds should succeed him.
Fleming said he would back “any effort that strengthens Georgia’s role in the presidential nominating process.”
“Time and again we have seen that being early in the calendar has given voters real influence over who becomes president, and Georgia’s voters deserve that same influence.”
Reynolds didn’t directly comment. Even if national Democrats select Georgia, the next secretary of state would still have to settle on a workable date and decide whether the state can avoid the conflicting calendars that doomed the last effort.
Republicans could also have more reason to negotiate this time. Unlike in 2024, when Trump was seeking a return to the White House, the next contest is wide open. An earlier Georgia primary could bring top-tier GOP contenders, political advertising and campaign spending to the state as well.
Raffensperger, for what it’s worth, supports the idea. He told the AJC that he favored an earlier Georgia primary — just not until 2028.
“Georgia would be a great early primary state,” he said. “It has a good cross-section of engaged voters from both parties and, as everyone seems to now be recognizing, we run great elections.”
Credit: Jenni Girtman
Credit: Jenni Girtman
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