Push for 1st: Nevada Democrats want Silver State to lead 2028 primary lineup

Nevada Democrats are pushing for the Silver State to be first in the 2028 presidential primary calendar – a move that would elevate the state’s national standing and bring a needed economic boost.

They have tried to argue their case in the past, but this time could be different.

“Being first puts us on the map. It brings all the attention to Nevada,” Nevada State Democratic Party Chairwoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

State Democrats will make their pitch over the coming months, with the goal of ironing out the early state calendar in spring 2026.

This most recent effort is part of a longstanding campaign from Nevadans for the state to play a greater role in the presidential election. Then-Sen. Harry Reid advocated for Nevada to be the first state in the West to pick the presidential nominee for Democrats in 2008.

When Nevada Democrats pushed for a presidential primary rather than a caucus after 2020 — arguing that the primary was more inclusive — they unsuccessfully pitched for Nevada to be first in the lineup ahead of the 2024 election.

Then-President Joe Biden, who at the time was still planning on running for re-election, wanted South Carolina to be the first state to nominate a presidential candidate. The goal was to show the importance of Black voters, and South Carolina had played a key role in securing Biden’s victory in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Following the president’s recommendation, the Democratic National Committee gave South Carolina the first slot. Nevada and New Hampshire were tied for second with their nominating processes held the same day, and Michigan and Georgia capped off the early state nominating calendar.

With no incumbent president weighing in and increased Nevada representation in the national party, Nevada Democrats think they have a better shot at successfully arguing Nevada’s case.

Why does this matter?

If Nevada is the first state to choose a Democratic candidate for president, it will play a large role in determining the Democratic presidential nominee, and it will bring more attention to the issues that matter most to Nevadans, Monroe-Moreno said.

“Presidential candidates will be discussing and debating the issues that matter most to Nevadans,” such as water, clean energy, climate change, gun violence prevention, reproductive rights, education, and creating and protecting union jobs, Monroe-Moreno said.

It’s also an economic opportunity for Nevada. Investments, jobs and the money that campaigns would bring to the state would boost the economy, said Travis Brock, the Nevada State Democratic Party’s treasurer and former executive director.

For Nevada’s congressional primaries alone, $16.8 million was spent in advertising in 2024, according to AdImpact.

By June 2024, Biden spent the least in Nevada of all the swing states with $1.8 million, almost 10 times less than what his campaign spent in Pennsylvania, according to Newsweek.

If Nevada moves to first in the primary calendar, dollars from Democratic candidates would grow.

Why Nevada?

Nevada Democrats argue that the Silver State is the perfect option to kick off the presidential nominating calendar in 2028. It meets every metric that matters for the Democratic National Committee when nominating a presidential candidate who can win nationwide, Brock said.

The state is the third-most diverse in the country and has a large working-class and non-college-educated population. It also has a young electorate, with more than 28 percent of registered voters under the age of 35, according to the latest voter registration data.

“Those are the exact voters Democrats need to talk to and persuade in a national campaign,” Brock said.

Nevada’s electorate looks like America, and any successful Democratic nominee for president will have to craft a message that resonates with voters. If a candidate is able to do that successfully in Nevada, it will make that person the strongest possible candidate for the general election, Brock said.

“We’re like a microcosm of who America is,” Monroe-Moreno said. Nevada can serve as a bellwether for how things could go in other states, she added.

Nevada also represents geographical diversity, Nevada Democrats argue. Washoe and Clark counties make up large urban centers, while there are sprawling rural communities in the state’s 15 other counties.

Although Donald Trump won Nevada in 2024 and was the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state in 20 years, state Democrats don’t think that hurts their chances of being first in the Democratic nominating process, since Democrats were able to hold on to many key seats down the ticket.

“We’re a state where Democrats can win with the right messaging and with the right candidate on the ballot,” Monroe-Moreno said. “I think we’ve proven that.”

Democrats point to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s narrow victory in 2022 and Sen. Jacky Rosen’s victory in 2024, when she won by less than 2 points.

They also point to Nevada’s voter accessibility. With expanded voter access through automatic voter registration and in-person early voting, more Nevadans are invited to be engaged in the process, Monroe-Moreno said.

“That goes a long way in our conversation with the DNC and why Nevada should be first because there’s so many ways that a voter can get engaged, and so many ways that a candidate can engage and have communication with those voters,” she said.

Nevada is also a small state, and its population creates a level playing field for candidates. Nevada only has two large media markets, which makes campaigning in the state more affordable for candidates, Monroe-Moreno said. They can learn how Americans are feeling about them as the next leader of the country through what happens in Nevada.

Making Nevada the first state also gives greater representation to an entire region of the country that has grown in importance in terms of its electoral impact: the Southwest, according to Democratic strategist Peter Koltak.

“Putting Nevada first forces candidates to address the West and address Western issues and spend time in the West, and that’s really important,” he said.

Winning back the working class

Perhaps one of the biggest arguments in favor of Nevada is the message national Democrats will send by putting it first: Working-class voters matter.

In 2024, working-class voters and voters of color shifted toward Trump. Exit polls showed that voters without a college degree split 56 percent for Trump and 42 percent for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, and that Trump won a larger share of working-class Black and Latino voters than he did in 2020.

“If we fail to rebuild that coalition, we won’t win back the White House,” Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Hilary Barrett wrote in a recent memo.

With Nevada’s large working class and growing union population, its placement will help the Democratic Party win back those voters, state Democrats argue.

The Democratic Party must rebuild its brand, and it cannot afford to have overwhelmingly college-educated, white or less competitive states start the nominating process, Barrett argued in the Aug. 27 memo.

“If Democrats care about winning national elections again, elevating Nevada as the first presidential preference primary for the 2028 cycle will set our party up for success,” Barrett wrote. “Our state will provide a level playing field and the best proving ground for presidential candidates to show they can excite diverse, working-class voters.”

Are Republicans making the same push?

While state Democrats push for a better time slot, the Nevada Republican Party seems content in the state’s position as “first in the West” in Republicans’ nominating process.

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald said the Silver State is a team player when it comes to the White House’s agenda of creating a cohesive team. The state’s position as third in the Republican nominating lineup draws candidates to the state every cycle while also highlighting Nevada’s agenda. The GOP also knows the importance of Nevada, which saw victories with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s win in 2022 and Trump’s election in 2024.

“Everybody’s been coming to Nevada, everybody’s coming to Las Vegas. It sells well. It promotes well, and everybody wants to come here and be part of the energy when we have first of the West,” McDonald said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.