MINNEAPOLIS — With eyes on the 2028 presidential race, Democrats are preparing to organize their early-state nominating schedule. The party stated on Tuesday that the process would commence in September.

At the Democratic National Committee’s summer gathering, Chair Ken Martin expressed his intention to clarify the sequence of the initial primaries well before the campaign begins.

“We’re organizing sessions throughout fall, winter, and into spring to ensure a thorough, efficient, and equitable calendar process,” Martin mentioned. “We need to develop a process that delivers a highly qualified candidate, someone who is well-prepared to win and lead America into the future.”

Unofficial pitches are already being made to DNC members by representatives from various state delegations, each vying to position their states at the forefront.

Nevada is keen on being the first, highlighting its unique blend of working-class constituents, diversity, and pivotal battleground status. Meanwhile, New Hampshire promotes its “First in the Nation” status and state law as key factors. Iowa also cites its state law mandating a first-in-the-nation caucus.

“Nevada is the only state that fulfills all of the early state criteria laid out by the DNC,” noted Hilary Barrett, executive director of the Nevada State Democratic Party, in a memo released Wednesday. “By elevating our strong labor presence, diverse population, and competitive battleground status, we can set the stage to help Democrats reclaim working-class and minority voters. Failing to rebuild this coalition might jeopardize our chances of reclaiming the White House.”

Then there’s South Carolina, which, under President Joe Biden, leaped to the front of the primary pack last year, with the party talking up its large Black population. And Michigan, with its battleground badge and Midwest credentials, joined the early ranks last year.

The 2024 reshuffling happened after the party agreed it should move away from Iowa and New Hampshire because their mostly white populations were less reflective of the Democratic Party and neither was a core battleground state. Iowa also fell into disfavor after the 2020 caucuses turned chaotic, with vote-counting problems that meant it didn’t offer a clear winner until days later.

But now, after 2024’s bitter White House loss to Donald Trump, Democratic Party dynamics may have changed enough that simply mentioning the word “Iowa” isn’t enough to throw it out of contention.

Recently, Martin told NBC News he welcomed Iowa’s making a pitch to go first again, in the same way he was open to every state that wanted to be vetted for the role. He said he didn’t believe in ruling out states that had been ruled out in the past.

“Every state who wants to be considered in the early states window will have an opportunity to bid just like they did last time, including Iowa, and other states,” Martin said early this month.

Martin said then that he wanted every region of the country represented.

“Which state emerges out of each region? My other commitment is to make sure that every state who wants to be heard gets a chance for a fair hearing and that no one comes in with a preconceived idea of what the calendar should be,” he added.

But Martin also didn’t name an Iowa DNC member to the pivotal Rules and Bylaws Committee, or RBC, which will again take a leading role in deciding the 2028 early state lineup.

Scott Brennan, an Iowa DNC member and former longtime member of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, said: “At the old RBC there was a bias against caucuses. We’ll see if the new RBC is as biased against caucuses. Chair Martin was supportive of us making an application if Iowa Democrats decide to do so.”