Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. California Governor Gavin Newsom is making waves in South Carolina, and it’s not just because of his hair gel withstanding the Low Country’s sticky sweat. He’s been touring the state, meeting with voters, and delivering a confrontation call to action against Donald Trump. Newsom acknowledged that his trip was indeed part of feeling out a campaign, and he’s trying to straddle the continental divide by segueing from recounting how he fought back against Trump to how that showed him Democrats need to fight differently now.
He says that’s part of why he started his Southern swing touring the racial injustice Legacy Museum in Alabama, just down the street from the state capitol where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy. It’s the kind of poetic juxtaposition that tends to grab the 58-year-old. Newsom delivered a stump riff that carried aspirational notes in the style of Bill Clinton or Barack Obama, telling a story of a country battered but resilient.
South Carolina Democrats are in such rough shape that their big aspiration is just winning enough statehouse seats to break the GOP supermajority. But Newsom said he’s truly committed to the state, explaining that he chose to come back to where he campaigned for both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and traveled on his book tour, because of the relationships he’s cultivated with state party leadership.
Newsom’s team already knew that he would have work to do connecting with Black voters — who tend to make up over half of the Democratic primary electorate in South Carolina — if he goes forward with a presidential run. He says that’s part of why he started his Southern swing touring the racial injustice Legacy Museum in Alabama.
In front of crowds of over a hundred mostly retirees, peppered with California transplants, Newsom delivered a confrontation call to action against the “invasive species” of Trump. Newsom told CNN that he wasn’t worried about the crowd makeup this visit, explaining that he’d been told that was the downside of scheduling events while many people are working.
An hour away on Friday afternoon, 25-year-old congressional candidate Zyon Khalifa listened to Newsom’s rundown in West Columbia, liking the feel of a younger politician energetically working a room, and the way he talked explicitly about Black people being targeted. Newsom said he’s going to keep taking on Trump once his time as governor is up, and he previewed how he’s going to keep that going.
Taking on Trump over the immigration crackdown, federalizing the National Guard, and redistricting is what put Newsom on the minds of so many of the Democrats who turned out to see him. Newsom has called the president a liar for claiming to have berated him in a conversation, and he retold his version of the story several times in South Carolina.
In conclusion, Newsom’s trip to South Carolina was a test of his campaign skills and his ability to connect with voters in a crucial primary state. While he has his work cut out for him, especially with Black voters, he’s showing that he’s willing to put in the effort to build relationships and listen to their concerns. And who knows, maybe his hair gel will become a symbol of his campaign – after all, it withstood the Low Country’s sweat, so maybe it can withstand the heat of a presidential campaign. Newsom’s got moxie, and that’s what might just make him a contender in 2028.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
