Rep. Clyburn praises Gov. Newsom’s potential 2028 White House bid during SC visit
Rep James Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks during a church service attended by President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, at Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
(WCIV) — Rep. James Clyburn, South Carolina’s only Democrat in Congress, had high praise for California Gov. Gavin Newsom as he swung through the Palmetto State.
Newsom’s march into the state, which for years has held one of the earliest voting contests on the Democratic presidential primary calendar, serves as a signal that the governor is cautiously eyeing a 2028 White House bid. And it may be a bid that Clyburn, who has represented South Carolina’s 6th Congressional District since he won election in 1992, seems to like.
“It’s no secret,” Clyburn said to Politico after Newsom spoke to red-state Democrats in small towns across the state. “I feel good about his chances.”
The last time Newsom toured through the state was when he stumped for then-President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. This visit was clearly different.
Newsom spent Tuesday in small towns across northeastern South Carolina, speaking to crowds in coffee shops and small businesses, shaking hands or posing for photos with scores of them, according to The Associated Press. In Florence, he focused his comments on what he said is the need to address the nation’s divisions by being intentional in having conversations with people of diverse viewpoints.
“I think it’s really important for Democrats that we spend time in parts of our states, parts of our country, that frankly, we haven’t spent enough time in,” Newsom said. “That’s why I’m here.”
On Wednesday, when Newsom turned his attention to Upstate counties that are GOP strongholds, he drew the attention of another South Carolina lawmaker – Sen. Lindsey Graham.
“If you’ve ever wondered how many liberals there are in Seneca, South Carolina… we now know they can all fit in one room with Governor Gavin Newsom!” Graham wrote on social media, following Newsom, wishing him a happy birthday. “I can’t think of a better birthday present than to be criticized – in South Carolina – by the Governor of California for voting for President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
“From a liberal’s perspective, this bill is a nightmare. It cuts taxes. It reduces spending, with a debt reduction of over $400 billion. It’s also the largest investment in the history of the country for border security, and it makes our military stronger. All things liberals hate and would never do.”
If you’ve ever wondered how many liberals there are in Seneca, South Carolina… we now know they can all fit in one room with Governor @GavinNewsom!
I appreciate the birthday wishes from Governor Newsom as he visited my hometown today. I hope he had a great trip.
I can’t think… https://t.co/HOSbBtz04H pic.twitter.com/YtchHJqggh
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 9, 2025
Newsom heading into Republican strongholds has fit an image he has attempted to curate of himself in recent months. He has hosted Trump allies on a podcast he hosts. He has also broken from his own party by agreeing with his podcast guests over restricting transgender women and girls in sports.
But the California Democrat isn’t alone in taking a renewed interest in South Carolina. Recently, a pair of governors, Minnesota’s Tim Walz and Maryland’s Wes Moore, made a pilgrimage to the state for the Blue Palmetto Dinner in late May.
Then, Rep. Ro Khanna plans to hold a July 19 town hall in Goose Creek – within the bounds of South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, represented by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace. It is part of his “Benefits Over Billionaires” tour, though he remains coy about whether he would want to run for the party’s nomination in 2028.
“Right now, it’s a focus on 2026. I’ve articulated this new economic patriotism, which is a vision for bringing new paying jobs into these communities, and also for providing economic security for folks, making sure they have housing, childcare, and healthcare,” Khanna said. “I do believe that is the direction the Democratic party needs to go in. But I look forward to having those conversations after 2026.”
The 2028 race may be years away, but national Democrats appear eager to build a rapport in the state that first vaulted Biden to the White House.
