Some progressive Democrats are fuming that the party's new schedule for 2028 presidential primaries could make it harder for one of their own to win the party's nomination.A powerful Democratic National Committee panel voted Friday to kick off the primary in South Carolina — the state where progressive icon Bernie Sanders suffered landslide losses in the 2016 and 2020 primaries.Why it matters: The panel's decision came with Democrats already divided over a wave of contentious 2026 primaries that have pitted an insurgent left against the party's more moderate establishment.Zoom in: From Wisconsin to Michigan to Maine, top Democrats are trying to halt the left wing's momentum in the run-up to this year's midterms, favoring relatively centrist candidates they see as more electable.Some progressives view the elevation of South Carolina on the party's 2028 primary calendar as part of that effort.South Carolina edged out Nevada for the first spot on the primary schedule, stinging progressives because Sanders won the primary in the Silver State in 2020.Puck reported that some DNC members were concerned that making Nevada the first state to vote would boost another socialist candidate.But even some DNC members were angry with the decision to put South Carolina first.A member of the DNC's Rules & Bylaws panel, which preliminarily OK'd the calendar, told Axios that "the public is swinging left, and the establishment is trying to fight the winds of change."The panel member added that putting South Carolina first could "shut down" a progressive presidential candidate, which is "not a strategy for winning the electorate."Branko Marcetic, a writer for the socialist magazine Jacobin, posted on social media that "the whole rationale is stopping a left-wing insurgent." Leftist streamer Hasan Piker snarkily suggested that South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn had too much power over the presidential nominating contest.The other side: South Carolina Democratic Party chair Christale Spain told Axios that a progressive candidate such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez "absolutely" could win the state's primary."I hate that the narrative kind of seems like 'Well, a progressive can't win in the South,'" said Spain, who worked for Sanders' 2016 campaign.
"The work that you have to do in the South is retail politics."Between the lines: The debate between progressives and tradition…
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