Famed filmmaker presses Democrats to put 'citizen-led' presidential primary first

By Fox News · Fox News

NEWFIELDS, N.H. — Ken Burns, the esteemed filmmaker whose popular documentaries chronicle American history and culture, has a message for the Democratic Party. Burns is urging Democrats to restore his home state of New Hampshire as the lead-off primary in the Democratic National Committee 's (DNC) 2028 presidential nominating calendar. New Hampshire had held the lead-off presidential primary for both Democrats and Republicans for a century, and while the GOP adhered to tradition in the last race for the White House, the DNC upended their calendar, placing South Carolina ahead of the Granite State. The move was an unwanted distraction for Democrats during the 2024 primaries, and the DNC is now starting to discuss which states will lead off its 2028 calendar, when the party aims to win back the White House in the race to succeed term-limited Republican President Donald Trump . WHITE HOUSE RACE UNDERWAY: WITH 2026 LOOMING, BOTH PARTIES ARE ALREADY PLAYING FOR 2028 Burns, who lives in the small southwestern New Hampshire town of Walpole, wrote a letter to the DNC’s Rules & Bylaws Committee, which oversees the party’s primary calendar, on the eve of that panel's meeting in Puerto Rico to begin considering applications by New Hampshire and nearly a dozen states to hold an early primary in 2028. "I'm writing to you today both as a Granite Stater who has witnessed firsthand how New Hampshire's First in the Nation Primary has helped move our democracy forward, and a historical filmmaker who, in this particularly challenging moment, is concerned for the future of our country and believes that New Hampshire's citizen-led, First in the Nation primary remains indispensable for this moment," Burns wrote in the letter, which was obtained by Fox News Digital. ‘ROCK STAR’ NEWSOM STEALS THE SHOW AT DNC SUMMIT AS DEMOCRATS HUNT FOR 2028 CONTENDER TO TAKE ON TRUMP In the letter, which was first reported by WMUR-TV in New Hampshire, Burns emphasized, "I know of no people better sui…