Keeping Faith with the Voters Who Kept Faith with UsWhy South Carolina Should Remain First in the Nation
There are moments when a decision is about more than the decision itself. The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is once again considering which states should open our presidential nominating process. On paper, this is a debate about a calendar. I believe it is about much more. It is about who we are as a Democratic Party. It is about whether the coalition we depend on to win elections has a meaningful voice in choosing our nominees. And it is about whether, at a moment when Black political power is under attack across this country, our Party will keep faith with the voters who have kept faith with us for generations. I was proud to serve as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee when our Party modernized the presidential nominating calendar and made South Carolina First in the Nation. I was proud of that decision then. I believe in it even more strongly today. South Carolina’s place at the beginning of the process was never simply about South Carolina. It was about ensuring that the opening chapter of our nominating process better reflected the people who write the final chapter in November. It was about making sure candidates for President of the United States had to sit across the table from Black voters, rural voters, working people, veterans, faith leaders, young people and families across the South, and earn their trust from the beginning. And it sent a simple but powerful message to Black voters: We see you. We hear you. We value you. A commitment like that should mean something. That is why, on July 9, I wrote to the members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee urging them to keep South Carolina First in the Nation. I am sharing that letter publicly today because I believe this conversation is bigger than any committee, any state or any one presidential election. It is about whether institutions keep their promises. And whether the Democratic Party will keep faith with the voters who have so faithfully kept faith with us. Here is my letter: Keeping Faith with the Voters Who Kept Faith with Us Why South Carolina Should Remain First in the Nation July 9, 2026 Dear Chair Jim Roosevelt, Chair Minyon Moore & Members of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee: History rarely announces itself while it is being made. Most decisions made by institutions resolve immediate questions. They establish procedures or settle disputes. They matter in the moment they are made, but their significance rarely extends far beyond it. Every so often, however, an institution is presented with a decision whose importance reaches well beyond the question immediately before it. I believe this is one of those moments. As members of the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, your responsibility extends well beyond determining the order of presidential primaries. The decision before you is not simply about calendars or tradition. It is about what the Democratic Party chooses to say about itself, about the coalition that has sustained it, and about the values that will define it for years to come. Every member who has served on this Committee understands that debates over the presidential calendar have often involved spirited disagreements, competing regional interests, and the difficult compromises that naturally accompany institutional decision making. That has always been part of the Committee’s work. But I respectfully submit that this moment is different. The decisions you make today will have political ramifications. They will have institutional ramifications. And I believe they may have generational consequences. At a time when so many Americans are questioning whether institutions still keep their promises, your work will help answer an equally important question: Will the Democratic Party keep faith with the people who have kept faith with it? That is why I am writing to you today. Why the DNC Changed the Calendar Before we debate where the Democratic presidential calendar should go next, it is worth remembering why we changed it in the first place. Too often, the discussion has been reduced to personalities, politics, or geography. Some have suggested the calendar changed because President Biden won South Carolina or wanted to secure his re-election. Others have portrayed it as a dispute among states competing for influence or tradition. Those explanations miss the larger story. The decision to modernize the Democratic presidential calendar began with a far more fundamental question: Does our presidential nominating process reflect the coalition that elects Democratic presidents? For too long, the answer was incomplete. The Democratic Party is the broadest and most diverse political coalition in American life. Our victories are built by Black Americans, White Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Native Americans, organized labor, women, young voters, LGBTQ+ Americans, people with disabilities, veterans, suburban families, rural communities, and working people from every corner of our nation. Yet the opening chapter of our presidential nominating process did not fully reflect that coalition. The reforms adopted for 2024 were not intended to diminish any state’s contribution to our Party. Every early state has made meaningful contributions to our democracy and to the Democratic Party’s success. Instead, the goal was to ensure that the states opening our presidential nominating process collectively reflected the coalition we ask our eventual nominee to unite in a general election. It was a recognition that our process should reflect our principles. That is why the Democratic National Committee acted. Not to favor one state. Not to punish another. But to better reflect the Democratic Party we are today and better prepare our nominee to win tomorrow. That principle remains just as compelling today as it was when the Committee first embraced it. Why This Moment Matters Even More Today There is another reason I believe the Committee’s work carries such significance at this moment. The Democratic Party is making this decision at a time when many Americans are asking profound questions about the future of our democracy and the institutions they have long believed in. For many Black Americans, those questions are especially urgent. They are asking whether the institutions they have steadfastly supported, including the Democratic Party, will continue to stand with them at a moment when their political voice, representation, and hard won gains are increasingly under pressure. As a lifelong Democrat, a former Chairman of this Party, and a Black man who has spent much of my life organizing, campaigning, and asking people to believe in the Democratic Party, I would be less than candid if I did not share one concern. I believe we are at another crossroads in the relationship between the Democratic Party and Black Americans. For generations, Black Americans have been the Democratic Party’s most steadfast constituency. Election after election, they have organized, volunteered, voted, and defended this Party through victories and defeats alike. That is not sentiment. It is not conjecture. It is one of the most enduring statistical realities in modern American politics. Yet today, many Black Americans are watching institutions they have long supported make decisions that cause them to question whether their voices will continue to matter. They have watched protections for voting rights narrowed. They have watched attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. They have watched accomplished Black leaders become targets of coordinated political and cultural attacks. They have watched corporations that only a few years ago proudly proclaimed their commitment to racial equity quietly retreat from many of those commitments. The recent Supreme Court decision in Callais has only heightened those concerns by further weakening protections for fair representation and reinforcing the belief among many that Black political power is under sustained assault. Whether one agrees with every individual decision is not the point. The broader reality is that many Black Americans are asking a deeply personal question: When the pressure comes, who will continue to stand with us? And who will quietly step back? I do not raise these questions to divide our Party or to suggest that the Democratic Party has all the answers. I raise them because I love this Party, because I believe in its mission, and because I believe institutions are strengthened when they have the courage to live up to the values they profess. The Democratic Party cannot answer every challenge confronting Black Americans through a decision about the presidential calendar. But it can answer one important question. Will we continue to demonstrate, not merely declare, that Black Americans remain central to the coalition that elects Democratic presidents? Will we continue to align our actions with our values? The question, then, is not whether Black Americans should have a meaningful voice in our presidential nominating process. The Democratic Party answered that question in 2024. The question before this Committee is whether we will keep that commitment. Keeping South Carolina First in the Nation can be part of our answer. Why South Carolina Was the Right Choice The question before this Committee is not whether South Carolina is perfect. No state is. Nor is this a criticism of any other state. New Hampshire, Nevada, Michigan, and the other state applicants each bring unique strengths to our presidential nominating process and each plays an important role in preparing our Party for the general election. The question before this Committee is not whether those contributions matter. They unquestionably do. The question is whether the principles that led the Democratic Party to make South Carolina First in the Nation remain valid. I believe they do. South Carolina was not selected because it was politically convenient. It was selected because it reflected the values the Democratic Party sought to elevate through a modernized presidential nominating process. First and foremost, South Carolina requires every Democratic presidential candidate to earn the trust of Black voters from the very beginning of the campaign, not after momentum has already been established elsewhere. It ensures that the Democratic Party’s most steadfast constituency helps shape the nomination from the outset rather than being asked to ratify decisions already made. But South Carolina is about far more than one constituency. Like the Democratic coalition itself, South Carolina is diverse in race, geography, faith, generation, and economic background. Candidates must build support in urban neighborhoods and rural communities, in growing suburbs and small towns, among faith leaders, organized labor, military families, business leaders, students, and working people. Success is not achieved by appealing to one community alone. It is earned by building the broad coalition Democrats must ultimately assemble to win the White House. South Carolina also reflects where America is headed, not simply where it has been. It is one of the fastest growing states in the nation and sits within the fastest growing region of the country. Following the 2030 Census, congressional seats and Electoral College votes are expected to continue shifting toward the South. If Democrats intend to build durable national majorities, we cannot afford to retreat from the region that will increasingly shape our nation’s political future. South Carolina has also demonstrated something every early state should aspire to do: identify the Democratic nominee. Since 2008, every Democratic candidate who has won South Carolina’s presidential primary has gone on to become our Party’s nominee. That is not hyperbole. It is history. There is another reason South Carolina matters. Few places are more central to the story of Black America. Historians estimate that more than ninety percent of Black Americans can trace at least one ancestor to the Charleston region, one of the principal ports through which forty percent of enslaved Africans entered what became the United States. South Carolina occupies a singular place in our nation’s history, from the horrors of slavery to Reconstruction, from the long struggle for civil rights to the continuing pursuit of a more perfect Union. The descendants of slaves whose hands picked cotton are now helping pick presidents. That is not merely a powerful symbol. It is a powerful statement about American democracy. It reflects a nation still striving to fulfill its founding promise and a Democratic Party willing to align its nominating process with the coalition that has so often carried it to victory. Those are the reasons South Carolina was the right choice in 2024. Those reasons are even more compelling today than they were then. President Biden’s Vision One of the greatest misconceptions about the 2024 calendar is the belief that President Biden’s decision was driven by political expediency or personal advantage. That is not what I witnessed. As Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, I participated in many of the discussions surrounding the presidential calendar. I was not present for every conversation, nor did I know what recommendation President Biden would ultimately make. At the time, we were reviewing presentations from every state seeking a place in the early window. South Carolina was one of several states making its case. During one of those discussions, President Biden stopped the presentation. He said, “Hold up a minute. Let’s go back to South Carolina. I do not care where I go in this country. When talking to African Americans, almost every one of them has some family or a relative from South Carolina. South Carolina is important to the Black community, and I just want everyone to know that and understand that.” That moment has stayed with me ever since. What struck me was not that the President was focused on one state. He was focused on what that state represented. He understood that the Democratic Party’s presidential nominating process should better reflect the coalition that elects Democratic presidents. He understood the unique place South Carolina holds in the history of Black America. And he understood that beginning our process in South Carolina would send a powerful message to millions of Americans who had stood faithfully with the Democratic Party for generations. President Biden did not change the calendar simply because he believed South Carolina deserved to go first. He changed it because he believed the Democratic Party should better reflect its own values. Throughout his presidency, that belief was reflected in his actions. He selected the first Black woman to serve as Vice President of the United States. He appointed the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. And he championed a presidential nominating calendar that recognized the indispensable role Black Americans have played in building and sustaining the Democratic Party. His message was both simple and profound. I see you. I hear you. I value you. That was the spirit behind the 2024 calendar. The question before this Committee is whether that spirit will continue to guide our Party’s future. The Early Window Works One of the greatest strengths of the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential calendar is that it recognizes no single state can test every quality we seek in a nominee. Instead, each state in the early window contributes something distinct, creating a process that is stronger because of their collective strengths. South Carolina ensures that every candidate demonstrates the ability to earn the trust of Black voters and build the broad, multiracial coalition that defines the Democratic Party. It is the place where candidates must connect across race, geography, faith, and class while demonstrating the coalition building skills required to lead our Party and our nation. New Hampshire continues one of the most important traditions in American politics. Its culture of retail politics requires candidates to answer difficult questions directly, engage voters face to face, and demonstrate authenticity through countless personal interactions. It reminds us that democracy is built one conversation at a time. Nevada reflects the growing diversity of the American West and the indispensable role of organized labor in the Democratic coalition. It tests a campaign’s ability to organize among working families, engage Latino and Asian American communities, and compete in one of the fastest changing regions of our country. Michigan represents the industrial heartland of America. It challenges candidates to connect with union households, manufacturing communities, suburban voters, and one of our nation’s premier battleground electorates. It demonstrates whether candidates can compete where general elections are often decided. Together, these four states create a presidential nominating process that is more representative, more rigorous, and more reflective of the Democratic coalition than any one state could provide on its own. That was the vision behind the 2024 calendar. It remains the right vision today. As the Committee considers the future of our nominating process, I encourage you to view these states not as competitors for influence, but as partners in preparing the strongest possible Democratic nominee. Our Party is strongest when every state contributes its unique strengths to a process that reflects who we are, what we value, and the coalition we must build to win. That is exactly what the 2024 calendar set out to accomplish. Keeping Faith This discussion is ultimately about more than the order of presidential primaries. It is about the future of the Democratic Party. But demographics alone are not the reason to keep South Carolina First in the Nation. The stronger reason is this: The Democratic Party made a commitment. In 2024, our Party chose to align its presidential nominating process with the coalition that has sustained it for generations. It chose to recognize that Black Americans should not simply be asked to deliver victories in November. They should help shape the choice of our nominee from the very beginning of the process. That commitment should not be abandoned after a single election cycle. Institutions are not strengthened simply because they make bold decisions. They are strengthened because they keep their commitments. I recognize that reasonable people can disagree about the presidential calendar. They can disagree about which four(or five)states belong in the early window or what order best serves our Party. Those are legitimate debates. But I believe the principles that guided the Democratic Party’s decision in 2024 are even more compelling today than they were then. At a time when many Americans, and especially many Black Americans, are questioning whether the institutions they have believed in will continue to stand with them, the Democratic Party has an opportunity to answer with more than words. We can answer with action. Keeping South Carolina First in the Nation will not solve every challenge confronting our Party or our nation. But it will reaffirm something fundamental. It will reaffirm that the Democratic Party keeps its promises. It will reaffirm that we understand who has stood with us through victories and defeats. It will reaffirm that our actions are consistent with our values. President Biden’s decision in 2024 was about more than changing a calendar. It was about making a statement regarding who the Democratic Party is and who it aspires to be. That statement is no less true today. Indeed, it is even more important. History will not judge this Committee simply by the order of four or five presidential primaries. History will judge whether, at a consequential moment, the Democratic Party had the courage to keep faith with the voters who had so faithfully kept faith with it. I believe we should. Respectfully, Jaime R. Harrison You’re currently a free subscriber to Jaime’s Table. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription.
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