Scoop: S. Carolina Dems enlist influencers for primary fight
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain before a 2024 campaign event for then-President Biden in Charleston. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images
Top South Carolina Democrats are courting social media influencers for help in persuading national party officials to pick the state to hold the nation's first presidential primary in 2028, Axios has learned.
Driving the news: South Carolina will host a "creator" briefing alongside the national party's meeting in Los Angeles this week — a reflection of the growing importance of Democrat-friendly influencers as the party seeks to recapture young voters from the GOP.
- It's part of an increasingly hot battle within the party over which states will get the earliest slots on the 2028 primary calendar — and likely have outsized sway in determining who wins the Democratic nomination.
Zoom in: Iowa and New Hampshire traditionally kicked off the primaries in both parties for decades, but then-President Biden moved to make South Carolina first in the Democrats' schedule in 2024.
- That was partly because he'd done well there in 2020, but his team also noted that South Carolina's population is more diverse — about 25% Black — arguing that it better represents the makeup of Democratic voters.
- South Carolina Democrats tell Axios that their "nationwide creator engagement strategy" will involve influencers in sports, lifestyle, politics and beyond to tout the state as the first 2028 primary host.
What they're saying: "It's not business as usual anymore," said South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain, adding that today "a lot of our voters get their information" from influencers.
- Spain said the state's approach is designed to show DNC members who'll decide on the party's primary calendar that "South Carolina isn't operating in the past."
- David Echeverria, a gamer and political organizer who is among the creators working with South Carolina Democrats, said it's important to understand "where people are, and gaming is the most popular recreational activity in the world."
Zoom out: South Carolina will have significant competition.
- New Hampshire is furiously trying to win back its longtime status as the first-in-the-nation primary state after being dethroned last year.
- Nevada, another traditionally early primary state, is making a play for the coveted first slot as well, and other states — including Iowa — could throw their hats in the ring.
- States that want to be part of the early lineup must submit proposals to the DNC by mid-January.
Between the lines: New Hampshire Democrats are revving up their lobbying efforts too, and met privately with DNC members on the powerful rules and bylaws committee in October, sources said.
- New Hampshire party officials say their state should go first because it's a general-election battleground with strong civic participation. (South Carolina has backed Republicans in every presidential election since 1980, while New Hampshire has gone for Democrats in the past six elections by relatively small margins.)
For years, the debate over the Democratic primary lineup has spurred conversations about racial representation and ideology.
- South Carolina Democrats say the previous early state calendar didn't reflect the party's diverse base. New Hampshire is mostly white, while Nevada has a sizeable Latino population.
- There's also an ideological debate at play after South Carolina backed Biden, a mainstream Democrat, in 2020's primary while New Hampshire and Nevada both went for progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
The big picture: South Carolina's strategy underscores the power of influencers in the modern media landscape, with more Americans than ever turning to nontraditional sources for news.
- The state party's plan also marks the latest example of Democrats seeking to learn from their mistakes in 2024, when President Trump outmatched Kamala Harris in the digital sphere.
