California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will be in South Carolina next week, where he will meet with voters and visit some of the state’s more rural counties, as speculation continues about a potential presidential run in 2028.
Newsom, during the two-day trip announced by the South Carolina Democratic Party, will visit Florence, Marion, Chesterfield, Kershaw, Oconee, Pickens and Laurens counties. The tour, dubbed “On the Road With Governor Gavin Newsom,” will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.
“Governor Newsom leads the largest economy in America and the fourth largest in the world, and he’s coming to meet folks in towns that have been hollowed out by decades of Republican control,” the state party chair, Christale Spain, said in a statement on Thursday. “This is about building partnerships, uplifting communities, and showing rural voters they aren’t forgotten.”
Newsom previously visited the Palmetto State in early 2024, where he stumped for then-President Biden, who was running for reelection. South Carolina was voted in 2022 to be the first voting state in the party’s presidential nominating calendar starting with the 2024 presidential election.
Newsom has often been floated as one of the top contenders to become the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nominee. The California governor has clashed with President Trump in recent months over the protests that have kicked off in response to immigration raids in Los Angeles and has seen his stock go up.
“Our strategy isn’t about chasing cable news coverage, it’s about showing up and building trust, town by town, county by county, that is our path back to power. We’re proud of the gains we are making, but we’re even more focused on what’s ahead,” Spain said in the news release.
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