South Carolina will keep its status as "first in the South" on the Republican Party's presidential primary calendar in 2028.
The Republican National Committee approved the lineup last week during the GOP's midterm convention in Texas.
"Today's (Sept. 10) vote preserves the path to the Republican presidential nomination and gives our voters a strong voice in the process," RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said in a statement.
The RNC said no states were added, removed or changed in its 2028 lineup decision.
That means South Carolina will follow Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada on the contest schedule.
"The presidential primary brings hundreds of millions of dollars into the South Carolina primary every four years," said Tyson Grinstead, Richland County GOP's chairman who serves as a RNC committee member and sits on its presidential nominating process committee.
South Carolina picks presidents, Grinstead says, given the state's diverse coalition of Republican voters. The exception was in 2012, when Newt Gingrich won South Carolina's GOP primary but Mitt Romney went on to be the party's nominee.
"You have national security conservatives. You have religious conservatives, and you have a strong business community who cares about issues like keeping taxes low," Grinstead said. "It makes it a very representative state for the entirety of the Republican Party. From that standpoint, having us keep that position was really important to me and to the rest of the SCGOP."
GOP primary dates have not been chosen yet.
Grinstead said that decision is expected likely some time next year.
On the other side of the aisle, South Carolina will go first on Democrats' 2028 presidential calendar. In an announcement last month, the Democratic National Committee said South Carolina will go first on Jan. 22.
The state will be followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia.
