Pete Buttigieg returned to South Carolina this weekend as he considers another run for president, going back to a state where his 2020 campaign fell apart and where Black voters will have the first say in the Democratic presidential primary in 2028. Other potential candidates are already making their own trips, and an aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom is already taking a shot at Buttigieg.
Buttigieg insists he is “totally focused on 2026” and has not decided whether to run for president again.
Democrats, however, have chosen South Carolina to hold their first presidential primary in 2028, giving candidates plenty of reason to start building relationships there now.
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Buttigieg goes back to South Carolina
Buttigieg spent Friday and Saturday making several stops across the state. He raised money in Charleston for Democratic congressional candidate Nancy Lacore, spoke at a party policy conference, met with students at Claflin University, a historically Black university in Orangeburg, and addressed an NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner.
South Carolina was one of Buttigieg’s biggest problems in 2020. He finished fourth in the state’s Democratic primary and ended his presidential campaign the next day. Joe Biden won 61% of the Black vote in the state; Buttigieg received just 3%.
He came back six years later with four years in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet behind him. As transportation secretary, Buttigieg helped secure nearly $23 million for a project connecting Orangeburg’s two historically Black colleges and universities with downtown, funding local officials pointed to during his visit.
He also used the weekend to make the case against Republicans heading into the midterms, criticizing GOP policies on taxes, tariffs, Medicaid and SNAP, along with the war in Iran.
“Most Americans and even in a conservative state like South Carolina most voters disagree with the Republican agenda,” Buttigieg told reporters. “And agree with [Democrats] on doing more for healthcare, more for education, more to bring prices down.”
Newsom aide takes an early shot
Newsom spokesperson Izzy Garson went after Buttigieg’s three-year absence from the state, mockingly posting Sunday on X: “First time in SC in 3 years? Nice!”
Newsom has already visited South Carolina himself.
So have Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, California Rep. Ro Khanna and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, all potential 2028 candidates. Former Vice President Kamala Harris also has deep political ties in the state.
Buttigieg keeps his focus on 2026
For now, Buttigieg is directing his political activity toward the midterms. He has become one of the more active Democratic endorsers this cycle, backing Black candidates and Democrats running in Republican-leaning areas.
His South Carolina trip began Friday with the fundraiser for Lacore, who is running for an open House seat in a district Trump carried by 13 points in 2024.
But South Carolina Democrats are already telling anyone interested in 2028 that occasional visits will not be enough.
“It has to be a good start and then you got to continue,” former DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison told The Associated Press. “It can’t just be, ‘Oh, pop in and then I’m going to pop back out.’”
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