2026年8月15日 / 美国东部时间下午3:57 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
扎克·胡达克 报道
周六，民主党人批准了2028年总统候选人提名新日程，巩固了南卡罗来纳州作为首场官方民主党初选州的地位，该党希望借此提升更能体现其多元化选民联盟的州的地位。
此次投票是在民主党全国委员会于奥斯汀举行的夏季会议上完成的，与会成员批准了这一日程安排：首场初选将于1月22日在南卡罗来纳州举行，内华达州紧随其后，于2月1日进行。新罕布什尔州、新墨西哥州、密歇根州和弗吉尼亚州将在2月陆续完成早期州初选，所有这些州的投票都将在超级星期二之前完成。
“这远比日历上的一系列日期意义重大，”民主党全国委员会主席肯·马丁说道。“这关乎我们赢回总统宝座的策略，关乎我们渴望成为的民主党和我们向往的国家。”
新日程生效之际，正值党内进步派与建制派之间陷入拉锯战。同时，这也延续了民主党摆脱长达半个世纪传统的转变——过去几十年，以白人选民为主的艾奥瓦州和新罕布什尔州在提名进程初期拥有过大影响力。战略分析师表示，新日程赋予了黑人和拉丁裔选民更大影响力，而这两类选民是民主党联盟的核心组成部分。
“如果你无法赢得拉丁裔选民或黑人选民的支持，你就会清楚自己在这个日程框架下能走多远，”哥伦比亚广播公司新闻特约撰稿人、民主党战略家查克·罗查说道，他补充道，这一日程向黑人选民“表达了他们应得的尊重”。
并非党内所有人都支持这一新日程。艾奥瓦州和新罕布什尔州的民主党领导人——此前分别是首场和第二场初选举办州——在民主党全国委员会规则与章程委员会提出该方案后，就严厉抨击新的日程安排，认为这削弱了长期以来承担塑造总统提名战场责任的州的作用。
“新罕布什尔州‘全国首场初选’是在竞争激烈的摇摆州经过检验的练兵场，它造就了更优秀的候选人和更优秀的总统——无论民主党全国委员会内部人士怎么说，这一点从未改变，”新罕布什尔州美国国会代表团在一份声明中说道。“作为一个选民参与度极高的州，我们会让候选人接受严格考验，对他们进行全面审查。而且我们州规模小，这意味着与选民面对面交流比超级政治行动委员会或亿万富翁资助的竞选活动更重要。”
艾奥瓦州民主党主席丽塔·哈特周六表示，新日程“从根本上偏离了目标”，称民主党全国委员会的日程安排本应“确保选出最具实力的候选人”成为民主党总统候选人。
“这是一项违背承诺的产物，它将民主党赢得选举所需的大片地区和选民排除在外，而这些地区和选民正是恢复民主党原则、拒绝这个误入歧途且腐败的特朗普政府所需的多数支持，”她说道。
推动南卡罗来纳州在日程中跃居首位的势头可以追溯到2020年。当年，乔·拜登在艾奥瓦州、新罕布什尔州以及表现稍差的内华达州表现不佳，随后在南卡罗来纳州的胜利扭转了总统初选的局势。在拜登及其盟友的压力下，民主党全国委员会将南卡罗来纳州的初选提前至2024年日程的首位。
在那个选举周期中，新罕布什尔州无视民主党全国委员会修订后的日程，在南卡罗来纳州之前举行了初选，理由是该州法律规定必须举办首场初选。作为回应，民主党取消了这场初选的官方认证资格。民主党全国委员会主席肯·马丁曾暗示，如果新罕布什尔州在2028年再次提前举行初选，处罚将会更加严厉。
“这是本届民主党实际将会捍卫的日程，”马丁上个月在民主党全国委员会规则与章程委员会开会提出新日程后对记者说道。
新日程可能会影响民主党内部建制派温和派与包括极左翼民主社会主义者在内的进步派候选人之间的意识形态斗争。由于2028年大选尚无明显的领跑者，新批准的日程赋予了南卡罗来纳州、内华达州以及其他四个早期州不成比例的影响力，决定哪个派系能够在2028年总统初选中早早建立优势。
在获得早期初选资格的州中，只有内华达州和新墨西哥州明显对进步派有利。密歇根州本届选举期间对进步派持开放态度，阿卜杜勒·埃尔赛义德在参议院选举中赢得了初选，但该州历史上选出的多为温和派候选人。新罕布什尔州选民长期以来对 outsiders 持开放态度，但他们通常更倾向于独立立场，而非鲜明的意识形态倾向。
进步派在南卡罗来纳州面临艰难处境，该州拥有大学学历的白人选民较少，而这类选民往往支持更左翼的候选人；弗吉尼亚州则长期以来更青睐温和派候选人。
民主党选择提升黑人和西班牙裔人口众多的州的地位，正值该党努力阻止共和党在大选中争取这两大群体选民之际。皮尤研究中心的数据显示，特朗普总统在2024年大选中赢得了48%的西班牙裔选票，比四年前提高了12个百分点；他还赢得了15%的黑人选票，几乎是2020年的两倍。他在非西班牙裔白人选民中的支持率保持稳定，为55%。
South Carolina to hold first 2028 Democratic presidential primary, DNC vote confirms
August 15, 2026 / 3:57 PM EDT / CBS News
By Zak Hudak
Democrats on Saturday approved a new presidential nominating calendar for 2028, cementing South Carolina’s place as the first official Democratic primary state, as the party looks to elevate states that better reflect its diverse coalition of voters.
The vote came during the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in Austin, where members signed off on a schedule that begins with South Carolina on Jan. 22, followed by Nevada on Feb. 1. New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia round out the early-state lineup throughout February, all voting before Super Tuesday.
“This is much bigger than a lineup of dates on a calendar,” said DNC Chair Ken Martin. “This is about our approach to winning back the presidency. It’s about the kind of Democratic Party and the kind of country we aspire to be.”
The new calendar goes into effect amid a tug-of-war within the progressive and establishment wings of the party. It also continues a shift away from a tradition that for half a century gave states that are predominantly composed of White voters — Iowa and New Hampshire — outsized influence at the start of the nominating process. Strategists say the new calendar gives greater influence to Black and Latino voters, who make up key parts of the Democratic coalition.
“If you’re not strong with Latino voters or if you’re not strong with Black voters, you know you can only get so far in this calendar,” CBS News contributor and Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said, adding that the schedule shows Black voters “the respect that they’re due.”
Not everyone in the party is on board. Democratic leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire — previously the first and second states to hold primary contests, respectively — excoriated the new map as soon as the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee recommended it, arguing that it diminishes the role of states that have long taken on the responsibility of shaping the presidential nomination battlefield.
“New Hampshire’s First in the Nation primary is a tested proving ground in a closely contested swing state that forges better candidates and better presidents — and despite what DNC insiders say, that hasn’t changed,” New Hampshire’s U.S. congressional delegation said in a statement. “As a state with highly engaged voters, we put candidates through their paces and thoroughly vet them. And our small size means that actually meeting and talking to voters takes precedence over super PACs or mega-donor-fueled campaigns.”
Iowa Democratic Chair Rita Hart said on Saturday the new calendar “fundamentally misses the mark,” saying the job of the DNC calendar is to “ensure that the strongest possible nominee emerges” to become the Democratic candidate for president.
“It’s a product of broken promises, and it excludes huge swaths of the country and the voters that Democrats need to win, the kind of majorities it takes to restore Democratic principles and reject this misguided and corrupt Trump administration,” she said.
Momentum for South Carolina’s ascension in the calendar traces back to 2020, when a victory there shifted momentum in the presidential primary that year to Joe Biden after he performed poorly in Iowa, New Hampshire and, to a lesser extent, Nevada. Under pressure from Biden and his allies, the DNC moved South Carolina’s primary to first for the 2024 calendar.
That cycle, New Hampshire defied the DNC’s revised schedule and held its primary before South Carolina, citing a state law that mandates it hold the first primary. In response, the party stripped the contest of its sanctioned status. DNC Chair Ken Martin has signaled that if New Hampshire jumps ahead again in 2028, punishment will be more severe.
“This is a calendar this party is actually going to protect,” Martin told reporters after the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee met last month to propose a new schedule.
The new calendar could impact the ideological battle within the Democratic Party between establishment moderates and more progressive candidates, including far-left democratic socialists. With no obvious 2028 front-runner, the newly approved schedule gives South Carolina, Nevada and the other four early states disproportionate influence over which faction can build early momentum in the 2028 presidential primaries.
Among the states granted early slots, only Nevada and New Mexico offer clear advantages to progressives. Michigan has shown openness this cycle to progressives, with the primary victory of Abdul El-Sayed in the Senate race, but historically has elected more moderate candidates. New Hampshire voters have over time shown an openness to outsiders, but they typically have a more independent streak rather than a steep ideological lean.
Progressives face an uphill battle in South Carolina, which has fewer of the White voters with college degrees who tend to support further-left candidates, and Virginia, which has long favored more moderate candidates.
The decision to elevate states with large Black and Hispanic populations also comes as Democrats fight to stop the GOP from gaining ground with those two groups in general elections. President Trump won 48% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, up 12 points from four years earlier, and he won 15% of Black voters, almost double his share in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. His share of non-Hispanic White voters remained stable, at 55%.