With South Carolina now officially set as the first Democratic presidential primary of 2028, California Gov. Gavin Newsom rolled into the Palmetto State Thursday with a message that blasted leaders in both major parties — Republicans for threatening democracy and Democrats for not fighting hard enough to protect it.
“I am here because I honestly believe that if we don’t take back the House of Representatives, we don’t win these local House seats, we will not have a country we recognize anymore,” Newsom told voters on St. Helena Island.
At an earlier stop in Hardeeville, he said President Donald Trump was “trying to rig the election before the first vote is cast,” the Post and Courier reported.
But according to Newsom, Democrats bear more than a little responsibility for Republicans’ success. Specifically, he criticized the Democratic establishment for ineffectual campaign tactics that effectively ceded red states to the GOP.
“What happened to Democrats over the last 20 years?” Newsom asked. “We started to see red and we said, ‘It’s not worth the drive.’ Well, you are worth the drive.”
He added, “So often we are trying to win arguments, while the other side is consolidating power.”
Meanwhile, Republicans welcomed Newsom to the state with down-home jeers and a little old-fashioned he-ain’t-from-around-here mockery.
“Maybe he’ll run into some of the Californians who fled the mess he created back home,” 2026 GOP gubernatorial nominee, Attorney General Alan Wilson, said in a statement. “Higher costs. Bigger government. Failed liberal policies. California can keep it. Don’t California My South Carolina.”
Newsom was expected to make six public stops during his swing through the state before heading to North Carolina.
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