Scoop: S. Carolina Dems deploy Biden as they seek early primary
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Former President Biden speaks at the Edward Kennedy Institute in Boston last October. Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images
South Carolina Democrats are enlisting former President Biden to try to save the state's place as the first contest in the party's next presidential primary.
- The state's party chair has invited the senior Democrats who will determine the 2028 primary calendar to a reception with Biden this Friday in Columbia, S.C., according to an email obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The order in which states vote in a primary can be key in determining the eventual nominee.
- Biden's presence could help or hurt South Carolina's case: Many Democrats still have warm feelings for him, while others blame Donald Trump's 2024 victory on Biden's decision to run again, aged 81.
Driving the news: Christale Spain, chair of South Carolina's Democratic Party, has been inviting members of the Democratic National Committee's Rules and Bylaws Committee to the Biden reception as part of the lobbying effort.
- "This intimate gathering offers a rare opportunity to spend time with the former president," Spain wrote to one committee member.
Between the lines: The DNC panel will decide on the 2028 calendar in the coming months, and there's already fierce jostling in 12 states vying to go first.
- South Carolina was traditionally early in the primary calendar but behind states such as Iowa and New Hampshire. That changed in 2024, at Biden's direction.
Biden wanted South Carolina — his strongest state in the 2020 primary — to vote first.
- Biden's team publicly argued they were elevating South Carolina because its primary electorate was more diverse with a large Black population.
- But privately, many on Biden's team acknowledged the main motivation was to discourage any primary challenges — essentially guaranteeing the party would renominate the aging president.
- Biden's move to cut off the chance of an open primary in the last cycle has led some Democrats to resist South Carolina's overtures and look to other states to kick off primary voting.
What they're saying: A Biden spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment.
- Spain told Axios: "We often invite DNC members, [Rules and Bylaws Committee] members and state party chairs. This is nothing new, we just celebrated [former DNC chair] Jaime Harrison in a similar way last year."
- "We don't need to use President Biden," she added. "This event is about celebrating him and his accomplishments."
