Iowa Democrats largely agree that they want to return to their historical spot as an early state in the 2028 Democratic presidential nominating cycle, according to survey results released by the Iowa Democratic Party.
In August, IDP officials announced they were conducting a survey among Iowa Democratic voters about the future of the state’s Democratic presidential caucuses. The national party booted Iowa from its longtime first-in-the-nation position in the 2024 presidential nominating cycle. While Democratic National Committee officials have said they plan to change the nominating calendar ahead of 2028, issues with reporting results in 2020 and Democrats’ concerns about caucuses being less accessible than primaries are hampering Iowa’s chances of regaining an early state spot in the new calendar.
But even if the DNC does not approve Iowa holding its caucuses early, the state party could still decide to hold an unsanctioned presidential nominating contest — a move New Hampshire, the longtime first-in-the-nation primary, took in 2024 when the national party had South Carolina lead the nominating calendar.
The results of the survey were released Saturday, when the IDP State Central Committee met to discuss the results as well as next steps for how to structure the caucuses in 2028 — and how to approach conversations with national Democrats about Iowa’s role in the nominating process. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart thanked Iowans for participating in the survey in a video about the “first round” of survey results.
“The bottom line is that Iowans must have an early role in the 2028 Democratic presidential nominating process,” Hart said. “And, our party-run process needs to be more accessible and inclusive. That’s what our fellow Democrats have said.”
According to the report submitted to the State Central Committee, 65.3 percent of the more than 750 Iowans surveyed said they want Iowa to be first or early in the nominating process. The largest portion of that group — 44.7 percent — said they want Iowa’s nominating contest to be first in the Democrats’ calendar, and 20.6 percent said they support Iowa being in the early window. The survey also found 12.6 percent Iowans said they support Iowa holding a contest on Super Tuesday or later, and 22 percent said they do not care when Iowa holds its contest.
Though the survey found Iowans want to hold a caucus early in the nominating cycle, 51.1 percent of Iowans said they do not believe Iowa should defy the DNC calendar, “even if it means Iowa is not in the early window.” Just over a third of respondents, 34.4 percent, said they support working through the DNC process of restructuring the nominating calendar but defying the calendar if Iowa’s plan is not accepted, similar to New Hampshire’s decision in 2024, while 14.4 percent said Iowa Democrats should give “no consideration” to the DNC process.
The report recommended the IDP seek a waiver to participate in the early contest window from the national party by Jan. 16, 2026 — the deadline for states to submit their request to the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee — but details were not shared on further steps.
“There is still a long way to go before an early window calendar is finalized,” Hart said. “And there’s still a lot of conversations with the DNC and with my fellow Democrats that need to be had.”
Robin Opsahl covers the Iowa Legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this story first appeared.
