Democrats could take preliminary vote on their 2028 presidential primary calendar later this week

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrats could vote as early as this week on the order of their primary calendar for the 2028 presidential election, although the decision wouldn't be final until the full Democratic National Committee agrees.

The panel that sets the party's voting order could make that determination as early as Friday when it meets in Washington, two people with knowledge of the party's process but not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Associated Press on Monday.

The Rules and Bylaws Committee has been holding monthly meetings as it considers the order in which states will vote during the 2028 primaries. The panel has heard presentations from a dozen states hoping to kick off the party's primaries and caucuses, including Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

The calendar isn't considered set until it's approved by the full DNC, which is scheduled to meet in August. The DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats upended their process for setting their calendar after Iowa's 2020 Democratic caucus debacle, which led to days of uncertainty over who had won. The party since then has favored more diverse states.

For the 2024 cycle, President Joe Biden led a DNC effort to have South Carolina — which for years has held the party's first Southern contest — go first overall in the party’s primaries. He cited the state’s more racially diverse population compared to the traditional first-in-the-nation states of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are overwhelmingly white.

Four years earlier, Rep. Jim Clyburn, South Carolina's lone congressional Democrat and for a time the top Black Democratic lawmaker on Capitol Hill, helped Biden revive his flagging primary campaign and win a resounding victory in the state. He then went on to secure the party's presidential nomination.

South Carolina's Democratic leaders have pushed for the state to lead off again, lobbying for support and getting buy-in from Democratic Party chairs in five Southern states. In May, they pressed for South Carolina to reprise its role as the party’s first-in-the-nation contest holder, arguing that the state best represents the initial playing field for presidential candidates to build the coalitions needed to win.

A quarter of the state's population is Black and about 9% is Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau.

Cappelletti reported from Washington. Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

FILE - Precinct 68 Iowa Caucus voters seated in the Biden section hold up their first votes of the caucus as they are counted at the Knapp Center on the Drake University campus in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

FILE - U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks to attendees at the South Carolina Democratic Party's Blue Palmetto Dinner on May 29, 2026, in Columbia S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard, File)

FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A man stabbed and wounded two tourists Tuesday morning near the ancient Acropolis in Athens, Greece’s top tourist attraction, police said.

The assailant attacked a man and a woman, both Greek Americans, with a knife on a pedestrian street near an entrance to the Acropolis itself and near the entrance to the Acropolis Museum, which lies at the foot of the Acropolis hill. The woman suffered light injuries to the leg, while the man was more seriously hurt with wounds to the arm, police said.

The attacker was detained at the scene, while the two victims were transported to the hospital by ambulance, authorities said. The identity of the attacker was not immediately clear, but police said he appeared to have been suffering from psychological problems.

The attack did not lead to any closure to the sites, which continued operating as usual. Greek media reported that the assailant had allegedly been randomly threatening passers-by with a knife, and that police had been alerted by a member of the public.

Violent street attacks are rare in Greece. In April, authorities arrested an 89-year-old man who allegedly opened fire with a shotgun in a social security office and a courthouse in central Athens, wounding at least four people, reportedly over social security grievances.

The Acropolis hill in Athens hosts the nearly 2,500-year-old Parthenon temple as well as other monuments, and attracts millions of tourists. Last year, about 4.6 million people visited the site.

Tourists walk near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, after two tourists were stabbed and injured nearby in an attack on a pedestrian street near the entrance to the archaeological site. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Tourists walk near the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, after two tourists were stabbed and injured nearby in an attack on a pedestrian street near the entrance to the archaeological site. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

FILE - Sun rays break through the clouds above the ancient Parthenon temple as tourists walk across the Acropolis during a hot day in Athens, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)