To: Interested Parties
From: Hilary Barrett, Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director
Date: August 27, 2025
Re: If Democrats Are Serious About Winning Back Working-Class Voters, Nevada Should Be First In The Nation
The Democratic National Committee’s new Rules and Bylaws Committee officially kicked off its new term and one of the most crucial decisions that body will make is determining the order of our party’s nominating calendar. The states chosen to make up the early window in Democrats’ presidential primary calendar matter, but the most important decision ahead of 2028 will be which state goes first. Nevada remains the only state that meets all of the early state criteria previously set forth by the DNC. Elevating a union-strong, diverse, highly competitive battleground state will lay the groundwork to help Democrats win back working-class voters and voters of color. If we fail to rebuild that coalition, we won’t win back the White House.
We are the working class: Nevada rewards candidates who can appeal to all economic and educational levels. Of the battleground states, Nevada has the highest percentage of working-class adults, and our share of union workers remains above the national average. Nevada’s union population continues to grow following Democrats’ work to expand collective bargaining to state employees and successful union drives to close the gap with every major Strip hotel earlier this month.
We look like America: Nevada is the third-most diverse state in the nation and our electorate represents a truly multiracial coalition. It’s a majority-minority state with Latino, Black, AANHPI, Native American and white voters. We also represent geographical diversity with large urban centers in Washoe and Clark Counties and sprawling rural communities that make up the state’s additional 15 counties.
We are a top battleground: Nevada is the most consistently competitive battleground state in the country. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto won by less than 1 point in 2022, and Sen. Jacky Rosen won by less than 2 points in 2024. Early organizing and Democratic voter registration in the primary is a down payment for winning here in November.
We are accessible to voters: Nevada has dramatically expanded voter access with automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, universal vote by mail, in-person early voting, and Election Day vote centers.
We are a small state: Nevada’s population creates a level-playing field for candidates, and competing here won’t force campaigns to drain their coffers before moving on to subsequent early states.
We have the party infrastructure: Nevada Democrats led the charge transitioning from a party-run caucus to a state-run primary to expand ballot access, breaking 2008 turnout records for Democrats’ first primary with over 134,000 participants. We re-elected Jacky Rosen to the U.S. Senate, Nevada was one of the four battleground states to hold every single one of our competitive U.S. House seats — increasing margins of victory in two of three races from 2022 — and we are now just one seat shy of supermajorities in both the State Assembly and the State Senate.
Bottom Line
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. 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.
Given the challenges we are facing to rebuild our party brand, we cannot afford to have overwhelmingly college-educated, white, or less competitive states kick off the process of selecting our party’s nominee. Putting a state that looks like America first is what will put us in the best position to win back the White House.
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