California Gov. Gavin Newsom made his third trip to South Carolina this week as the possible presidential candidate sought to rally Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
The stops that have included Aiken, West Columbia, Dorchester and Lancaster are part of the governor's swing through the key presidential contest state that party leaders say they hope can energize Democrats in rural Republican strongholds to turn out and vote.
"The state of our union, our republic, democracy as we've known it, it is all on the line," Newsom told hundreds of supporters Thursday in areas that included Hardeeville and St. Helena Island.
"Sixty days (until the midterms), Democrats," Newsom told voters Friday in West Columbia, continuing his coined "Take it Back" tour. "We have 60 days to bring it home."
Newsom is one of several Democrats considering a run in 2028.
Other visitors to the state have included Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and California Congressman Ro Khanna as they seek to raise their profiles in a state that will host the first Democratic presidential contest in 2028.
And recently, Pete Buttigieg, the former U.S. transportation secretary in the Biden administration, headlined the state party's Spratt Issues Conference in Florence.
Christale Spain, the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said Newsom has been a huge help to the party, noting he helped raise $370,000 for Democrats over the past year.
More importantly, Spain said, Newsom has made stops in some of the reddest parts of the state, where Democrats hope to motivate voters to show up to vote this November when congressional, statewide, state House and other local races are on the ballot.
"He is talking to Democrats all across the state — and we're not talking about going to Greenville or going to Columbia or going to Charleston," Spain said. "No, we've been on the road, going to every rural county that we can find because we want the Democratic Party, the Democrats in those counties, to know that we are alive and well."
Democrats saw an example of that energy this year when droves of voters turned out for the first day of early primary voting in June as the Republican-controlled Legislature sought to quickly push through a redistricting plan that would have drawn out the state's sole Democratic-leaning district.
The map's passage, advocated by the White House, ultimately failed.
Some senators pointed to the early voting numbers as reason to pause the plan for now.
"The first initiative Senate leadership has told us that is going to be before us come January is redistricting," state Sen. Margie Bright Matthews, D-Colleton, said. "They want all of Jasper (County). They plan on making Jasper so that you will never get another Democratic senator elected. We need help."
Newsom's visit to South Carolina didn't just go unnoticed by state Democrats.
Several Republican voters turned out at some of Newsom's stops to protest his visit with signs that read "wrong coast" and "bless your heart Gavin."
"South Carolina is proud to be RED—and we intend to keep it that way," the state GOP posted on X.
"Thank you for the warm welcome!" Newsom said in response.
