Speculation that California Democrat Gavin Newsom is preparing for a 2028 presidential candidacy has been stoked by his two-day visit to rural South Carolina next week.
The South Carolina Democratic Party said Thursday that Newsom will visit eight rural areas that rank among the most economically distressed and environmentally vulnerable in the state on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Newsom’s tour through the Pee Dee, Midlands, and Upstate regions was intended to show rural voters in areas that had been hollowed out by decades of Republican control that they aren’t forgotten,” said Christale Spain, the state Democratic Party chair.
A state that will be among the first to host a Democratic Party primary in 2028 is another target of Newsom’s visit. However, Newsom senior political advisor Lindsey Cobia refuted the notion that the governor is preparing for a presidential campaign.
According to Cobia, Newsom’s primary goals are to assist Democrats in regaining control of the US House of Representatives in 2026 and to raise awareness of how the Trump administration is failing to provide disaster assistance to rural areas and families.
On the Road With Governor Newsom, Newsom’s trip with the South Carolina Democrats, will visit Marion, Chesterfield, Marlboro, Laurens, Pickens, Oconee, Kershaw, and Florence counties. According to the Post and Courier, Newsom’s itinerary would involve visits to small establishments including churches, community centers, coffee shops, and cafés.
Newsom will visit some of the reddest counties in the state as part of the tour. President Trump won in November in seven of the eight counties Newsom will visit, including two where he received 75% of the vote.
In recent years, Newsom has made a number of attempts to court voters in the South, including the trip to South Carolina. In 2024, he traveled to South Carolina to campaign for then-President Biden. He engaged in a widely reported dispute with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2023. Additionally, he purchased advertisements in 2022 criticizing the governors of Florida and Texas for their positions on abortion and gun violence.
This month, Newsom is not the only Democrat from California to travel to South Carolina.
In collaboration with the campaign group Protect Our Care, which has been organizing people in swing House districts against the proposed Republican Medicaid cuts, Silicon Valley U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) will host town halls in Palmetto State on July 19 and 20.
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