The 2026 midterms are now over.
That means the 2028 presidential contest on both sides of the political party aisle has officially started.
On Thursday, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker was first out of the gate, announcing two trips to South Carolina this month, starting with a Friday trip to Sumter, where he'll speak at a NAACP banquet.
South Carolina will host the first Democratic presidential nominating contest on Jan. 22, 2028.
The state will stay first-in-the-South, or fourth overall, on the Republican Party's presidential nominating schedule.
Republicans have not picked an exact date yet.
In South Carolina, the 2028 presidential cycle began months ago — maybe even a year ago — as a handful of potential Democratic presidential candidates from governors to U.S. senators and Biden administration officials dotted the early-voting state to help boost turnout for candidates on Election Day.
That included potential names like Booker, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, California Congressman Ro Khanna and Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary in the Biden administration.