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Newsom is set to visit eight counties across the Palmetto State on Tuesday and Wednesday, a swing that the South Carolina Democratic Party has billed as an opportunity to connect with rural voters, whom they say are often overlooked and left behind by Republicans.
“I think it’s really important for Democrats that we spend time in parts of our state, in parts of our country, that frankly we haven’t spent enough time in,” Newsom said Tuesday morning at a Florence County cafe.
Pushback from statewide Republicans came before Newsom even touched down, with U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) challenging him to a debate and the South Carolina GOP urging their supporters to show up at his events “loud, proud, and decked out in your Trump gear and flags.”
The California governor also traded jabs on social media with Republican Attorney General Alan Wilson, who launched a bid last month to succeed term-limited Gov. Henry McMaster (R) as South Carolina governor.
“Radical Democrat Gavin Newsom is bringing his California chaos tour to South Carolina this week,” Wilson wrote in a July 7 post on X. “We’ve seen what his leadership looks like: sky-high crime, gas prices, taxes, and homelessness. South Carolina rejects that kind of future.”
“Your homicide rate is literally DOUBLE California’s,” Newsom shot back hours later.
Though the 2028 presidential primary is still years away, Newsom has seemingly worked to position himself as a frontrunner among what’s expected to be a crowded field for the Democratic nomination. His swing through South Carolina, one of the earlier nominating contests, signals he may be trying to shore up support early among the state’s diverse Democratic electorate.
The state’s key role in the nominating process was not missed by Wilson, who cast Newsom’s potential motivations as “obvious.”
“South Carolina…for both parties, basically, is the gateway to the White House,” Wilson said in a sit-down interview with News 2 on Tuesday. “He is here with a very different vision of what he wants to do, not only for our state but for our country.”
“When you look at Gavin Newsom’s record of what he’s done in California, do you really want that record coming here to South Carolina?” he asked rhetorically, pointing to recent data that showed more people are moving out of the Golden State than into it as evidence that people are “voting with their feet.”
In response, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Democratic Party criticized Wilson and the GOP for backing Trump’s recently passed “big, beautiful bill,” citing possible federal funding cuts for medical centers, particularly in rural areas.
“Instead of lashing out over Governor Gavin Newsom’s visit, Attorney General Wilson should explain why his party just backed a Trump budget that will shut down rural hospitals,” Jon Burton wrote in a statement to News 2. “South Carolina’s rural communities deserve leaders who show up, listen, and fight for them. The Republicans? Just more political noise while our communities suffer.”
Newsom’s trip kicked off with stops in the northeastern part of the state on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will travel to several deep-red counties in the Upstate, starting the day in Oconee County, where President Donald Trump won more than 75% of the vote in the 2024 general election.
He’s not the only Democrat making appearances in the state ahead of a possible bid in 2028.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore both spoke at the party’s annual Blue Palmetto Dinner in May, and Congressman Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is set to hold a pair of events in South Carolina later in July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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