Gov. Gavin Newsom to appear in South Carolina, following presidential campaign trail

Three years after declaring he had “sub-zero interest” in running for the Oval Office, Gov. Gavin Newsom is following the path of potential presidential contenders.

He’s admitted in recent weeks to national outlets and on his own podcast that he is mulling a potential White House run in 2028. He is also set to speak to voters in South Carolina next week, an early Democratic primary state where Joe Biden won a key victory in 2020 that revived his campaign and eventually won him the White House.

Newsom will speak next Tuesday and Wednesday in six counties in northeastern, western and central South Carolina, areas that have been hard hit by recent wildfires and hurricanes, according to South Carolina Democratic Party Executive Director Jay Parmley. He is scheduled to appear in Marion County, Chesterfield County, Kershaw County, Oconee County, Pickens County and Laurens County.

The governor, a prolific fundraiser even in non-election years, last appeared in South Carolina in January 2024 to stump for Biden, who recaptured the state primary before dropping out after his June 2024 debate appearance against President Donald Trump. Newsom is termed out as governor in November 2026 and cannot run again. He has been one of the loudest Democrats calling for an intra-party reckoning after losing the White House and both chambers of Congress last year.

“He’s never disengaged with us,” Parmley said of Newsom. “We’ve extended an open invitation to him to return any time. We’ve asked him to spend as much as time as possible in rural South Carolina areas.”

Nathan Click, Newsom’s campaign spokesperson, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Newsom’s opposition to Trump

Newsom has seen his 2028 prospects rise in recent weeks since taking on Trump after the Pentagon seized control of the California National Guard to suppress immigration-enforcement protests in Los Angeles. His support among Democratic-leaning voters has doubled according to one poll, even as his national profile remains low.

Shortly after Trump dispatched troops to Los Angeles, Newsom called him an authoritarian and said the president was using the military as “pawns” in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. He also said he was not considering a run for higher office, “but it’s a path that I could see unfold.” The day before Trump dispatched troops to Los Angeles, Newsom told celebrity psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw on “This Is Gavin Newsom” that he was “not ruling anything out” about his political future.

South Carolina has not elected a Democrat in a general election since 1964, save for former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter in 1976. But it remains an important state for Democrats due to its heavily African-American electorate, earning it the moniker of “the gateway to the South,” according to Roger Hartley, the dean of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs.

Democratic presidential nominees have a mixed track record when it comes to the Palmetto State. Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and John Edwards all won South Carolina before coming up short -- Edwards dropping out of the Democratic race and Clinton and Gore losing in the general election. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama went on to win the White House after winning South Carolina’s primary.

Gov. Andy Beshear, the Kentucky Democrat who has been floated as a potential 2028 contender, will also travel to South Carolina later this month to speak at the state AFL-CIO convention and appear at a Georgetown County Democratic fundraiser. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore also traveled to South Carolina in May, though he said he was there to promote economic development opportunities in his home state.

Can Newsom’s expertise connect in the South?

Even if they don’t fare well in other early battleground states like New Hampshire and Iowa, candidates that perform well in South Carolina can recover and go on to campaign in other southern states like Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, Hartley said.

“For a presidential campaign, to win the Democratic nomination, you are going to have to appeal to base Democrat voters, and a huge part of that base in the South,” he said.

The wildfires and protests over immigration raids in Los Angeles give Newsom the perfect cover for offering his crisis management bona fides to South Carolinians facing hurricane damage, and to road test his message in a more moderate state.

“He now has a chance to ship his expertise on to those leaders. It could be as simple as ‘I’m trying to give them advice on disaster preparedness...and I can share my best advice on how to do this,’ ” Hartley said.

It also offers Newsom an opportunity to “test the immigration-enforcement case in a way that might benefit his campaign but also maybe set the stage in the stage for, ‘How do I handle this issue in a more conservative state than California?’”

Politico previously reported that voters were wary of Newsom’s progressive reputation when he last visited South Carolina.

“He’s a leader in the Democratic Party,” Parmley said. “We don’t call balls and strikes. We welcome every flavor of Democrat.”

This story was originally published July 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM.