BS BULLETIN:
- Pete Buttigieg returned to South Carolina as he weighs another White House run.
- A Newsom aide publicly mocked the visit: “First time in SC in 3 years? Nice!”
- Buttigieg’s weakness with Black voters helped sink his 2020 campaign.
Nobody has officially declared for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
How adorable.
Apparently nobody told Gavin Newsom’s staff that we’re still supposed to pretend there isn’t already a campaign underway.
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spent the weekend in South Carolina doing something he very much needs to do if he’s contemplating another run for president: courting Black voters.
Buttigieg attended an NAACP dinner in Orangeburg and visited Claflin University, a historically Black university, as he begins making the rounds in a state that could once again play an enormous role in determining the Democratic nominee.
Aida Ross, a Buttigieg representative, celebrated the trip on X with a photo of the former South Bend mayor alongside members of the Orangeburg NAACP. “Pete returned to Orangeburg, SC!” Ross wrote. “Great night with the Orangeburg Branch of the NAACP.”
Enter Gavin Newsom’s communications director Izzy Gardon. “First time in SC in 3 years?” Gardon replied. “Nice!”
Oh, this is going to be fun.
The exchange immediately caught the attention of political operatives who recognized it for what it was: the staff of one likely 2028 contender publicly trolling another likely 2028 contender about one of his most obvious political vulnerabilities.
Republican strategist Matt Whitlock couldn’t resist. “Love to watch Gavin Newsom staffers dunk on Pete Buttigieg staffers as they all jostle to catch up to AOC in the 2028 Dem primaries,” he wrote.
Polling executive Adam Carlson had an even shorter reaction: “We’re just dropping all pretenses huh.”
Pretty much.
And there’s a reason South Carolina isn’t just another grip-and-grin stop for Buttigieg.
It is where his 2020 presidential campaign went to die.
Buttigieg had performed remarkably well in overwhelmingly white Iowa and New Hampshire. Then the Democratic primary moved to South Carolina, where Black voters make up a large share of the party’s electorate. Joe Biden crushed him. Buttigieg finished with roughly 8% of the vote statewide and failed badly among Black Democrats. He dropped out of the presidential race the following day.
That history makes this weekend’s return considerably more than a former Cabinet secretary dropping by for chicken and handshakes. Buttigieg appears to know it.
At the NAACP event, he talked about the need for politicians to build lasting relationships rather than parachuting into communities immediately before an election. “We need to make sure that we are showing up not just when we need something, but showing up because we are part of a relationship,” Buttigieg said during the trip.
That’s probably good advice.
Newsom’s staff apparently noticed the three-year gap in the relationship. South Carolina Democrats also seem determined to make presidential hopefuls work for their support. State Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain recently declared that “the South is not the past, it is the future,” while Democratic chairs from several Southern states have warned party leaders against taking Black voters for granted.
There’s another reason Newsom and Buttigieg are beginning to circle one another. They’re competitors. Recent national polling puts both men among the strongest potential Democratic contenders for 2028. An Emerson College survey conducted this month tested Buttigieg, Newsom, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris and Jon Ossoff against potential Republican nominees JD Vance and Marco Rubio. Buttigieg performed particularly well in the hypothetical general-election matchups, while Newsom also remained among the party’s leading contenders.
Daily BS readers have already seen this Democratic field beginning to take shape. Earlier polling covered here showed support broadening beyond Harris and Newsom, with Buttigieg moving into double digits, while AOC has also been openly positioning herself for a potential national run.
Which makes the little “Nice!” from Newsom’s communications director more interesting than it looks.
Nobody had to respond to Buttigieg’s South Carolina photo. Newsom’s guy wanted to.
We’re still two years from the election. They’re already checking each other’s travel schedules.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Fox News — Newsom aide taunts Buttigieg over South Carolina visit
- Associated Press — Buttigieg returns to South Carolina as he weighs another White House run
- Daily BS — Support broadens beyond Harris, Newsom in Democratic primary poll
- Daily BS — AOC taking steps toward presidential run as national tour sparks 2028 buzz
- Emerson College Polling — August 2026 national poll and 2028 matchups
