Michigan State party leaders’ request to be considered on why it should receive one of the coveted early nominating contests in the 2028 presidential primary calendar was officially accepted Saturday by the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee. (Angela Breck | States Newsroom)

The Michigan Democratic Party has been formally approved to make its case to the national party on why it should receive one of the coveted early nominating contests in the 2028 presidential primary calendar, setting up a regional contest with other states including Iowa and Illinois.

State party leaders’ request to be considered was officially accepted Saturday by the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee, which met in Puerto Rico to review bids from 12 states for the “early window” — the period ahead of Super Tuesday when influential nominating contests are held. Michigan’s party is seeking to position its presidential primary among the early contests, arguing the timing would help test candidates in a key battleground state that mirrors the broader Democratic electorate.

In a statement accompanying the application, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel said an early primary in the Great Lakes State would give candidates a meaningful test with voters crucial to winning in November 2028.

“Michigan is a perfect candidate to be in the lineup of early nominating contests, and it’s crucial that our new national calendar for selecting the next president includes Michigan in an early position,” Hertel said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Democratic Leader Ranjeev Puri also endorsed the bid, emphasizing Michigan’s demographic diversity and political significance.

In all, the committee reviewed applications from 12 states — including Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia — with a plan to eventually recommend a slate of up to five early-nominating contests that include one state from each of the party’s four regions, plus an optional fifth state.

In Puerto Rico, DNC members discussed Michigan’s bid alongside those from other states, debating logistical and strategic factors that could shape the 2028 calendar. Among the questions raised were Michigan’s media market costs and how easily candidates could campaign across its large and diverse electorate.

“It being such an expensive and fragmented market without much spill over into other states, feels like a situation where it’d be incredibly costly for candidates, perhaps prohibiting them from a diversity of investments across the country or depleting resources for future contests,” said Colorado Democratic Party Chairman Shad Murib.

Barry Goodman, an attorney and partner at the Goodman Acker law firm in Southfield, and an elected officer-at-large of the Michigan Democratic Party, made the case that Michigan was best positioned to help vet competitive candidates to win the White House in 2028.

“What we like about Michigan is that it is the most diverse battleground state in the country,” Acker said. “It’s clearly purple. It went for Trump. It went against Trump. Now it went again for Trump.”

Acker also said state election law currently fixes the presidential primary on the fourth Tuesday of February, which would be Feb. 22, 2028, and thus would already fall within the early window being sought. Changing that date would require bipartisan legislative action and the governor’s signature. However, Michigan’s Legislature is split, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats holding a narrow majority in the Senate.

“The Republicans would not help us move it out of this early window. So, we’re in the early window whether those who like it or not,” Acker said.

The DNC’s early contest deliberations are part of a broader effort to reshape the Democratic nominating calendar after the 2024 election cycle, when the party elevated South Carolina and other states ahead of traditional early contests like Iowa and New Hampshire.

No decisions have been announced on which states will comprise the 2028 early window. The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for April in New Orleans.