California Made Newsom Famous. Can He Escape Its Shadow in 2028?

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — Gavin Newsom’s secret is no secret here in South Carolina. Vendors sold “Gavin 2028” buttons outside his events this past week as the California governor trekked across the state that will host Democrats’ first presidential primary. His allies, state party leaders and pro-Newsom activists openly hinted at his national aspirations, and people close to him privately referred to a White House campaign as “the next thing,” according to AP News.

Still, the Democratic governor has barely begun to address what may be his biggest political liability as he stakes a claim as an early front-runner in the party’s 2028 shadow primary. That liability, South Carolina voters acknowledged this past week, is something he cannot change — his home state, California, a symbol of modern-day liberalism that people across the political spectrum love to hate.

The California Problem

Vera DeVito, a 78-year-old Democrat who packed into one of Newsom’s eight public events across South Carolina, said she didn’t know much about him or his policies — except that he’s from the Golden State. On that basis alone, she suggested supporting Newsom could be “risky.”

“It’s going to be hard for him to appeal to the whole country,” she said in the town of Summerville. “Everybody thinks California is different — especially in the South. They’re not crazy about California.”

Newsom’s home state stands in stark contrast with likely primary competitors who hail from battleground states, including Michigan’s Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Should they run, which is likely, all could make credible claims that they are better positioned to win over the moderate and independent voters ultimately needed to win the presidency.

Newsom’s team acknowledges that “California derangement syndrome” is real. In the almost half-century since former California Gov. Ronald Reagan first won the presidency, the state has produced a long list of failed White House contenders, including Gov. Pete Wilson, Gov. Jerry Brown, businessman Tom Steyer and, most recently, Vice President Kamala Harris.

The governor has spent months publicly wrestling with this dynamic, coining the term “California derangement syndrome” to describe what he sees as an irrational fixation on his state’s problems by critics. In a November interview with Politico, he said he was “deeply mindful” of its prevalence in states where he would need to win over voters, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Despite such daunting history, Newsom is not hiding his interest in the presidency. In an interview, he left open the possibility of announcing his decision before the end of the year.

“It’s the right question. Honestly, I don’t know,” Newsom told The Associated Press. “I think this thing’s happening. I mean, you already feel it, right? There are folks out here — they’re saying they’re already starting to interview state directors. So this thing is going to happen very, very quickly.”

A Southern Strategy Takes Shape

Newsom’s breakneck pace in South Carolina — which included a handful of private engagements in addition to his public events — mirrored or even exceeded that of a presidential campaign. His visit was billed as part of his “take it back tour” across states in the Deep South, where he argues that President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are rolling back civil rights.

He opened the trip on Wednesday with one day in Alabama and finished on Saturday with two stops in North Carolina. But the overwhelming focus was South Carolina, which will host the Democratic Party’s opening presidential primary contest in little more than a year. It was Newsom’s third trip to South Carolina this midterm season, and his seventh visit to the South in three years, according to the New York Post.

The Democratic National Committee voted in August to make South Carolina the first state in the 2028 presidential primary calendar, with its contest scheduled for Jan. 22, 2028 — a decision designed to give Black and Latino voters and union members an early say in the nominating process, as AP News reported. Black voters made up more than half of the state’s Democratic primary electorate in 2020.

The voters who crowded into community halls, courthouses and a university lecture hall talked openly about Newsom’s presidential ambitions, even as Democrats try to keep the focus on November’s midterm elections.

“He has strong potential,” said Kirk Bovill, a 65-year-old semi-retired actor and former Los Angeles resident who now lives in Summerville. “The question is how he’s perceived outside of California. People might think he’s too Hollywood.”

“The one thing he does very well: He doesn’t have a problem standing up to Trump,” Bovill continued. “He’s not intimidated.”

Indeed, Newsom’s message this past week was overwhelmingly focused on attacking Trump and rallying Democrats to stand up against him.

“We cannot do business as usual. We need to fight fire with fire,” Newsom told roughly 150 people gathered inside a Lexington, S.C. community center on Friday. “We’ve got to meet this moment and recognize what we’re up against. We’re up against an invasive species in the name of Donald Trump.”

At every stop, Newsom highlighted Trump’s decision to dispatch the National Guard to Los Angeles and other major U.S. cities, the federal immigration agents who have descended upon cities under Trump’s direction, and the president’s push to disrupt the midterm elections.

“Donald Trump is ruthless. He’s ruthless. He’s going to try to steal this election,” Newsom charged. “He is not screwing around. Neither can we.”

Fighting the ‘Wrong Coast’ Narrative

Republican activists protesting outside some of Newsom’s stops focused largely on his connection to California. CJ Westfall, the Republican chairman of Dorchester County, described Newsom as “a far-left extreme Democrat who’s probably the front-runner of this (presidential) race right now.” He was surrounded by protesters who waved signs reading “Wrong Coast” and “Clean Up Your State First.”

“We don’t want Gavin Newsom to California our South Carolina,” Westfall said.

Newsom’s team argues that the governor is gifted and experienced at fighting back against such criticism on the national stage. Newsom is a regular on Fox News, faced Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a debate, and was the most prominent national surrogate for former President Joe Biden’s campaign.

Newsom acknowledged that California is both a political liability and “the greatest opportunity” because the California story has only been told on the national stage by “people that have ‘California Derangement Syndrome.’” He said it would play far differently if he’s able to reframe the conversation in 2028.

“In a Democratic primary, in particular — we’ve got the receipts, things that the party is arguing for, we’ve delivered across a spectrum of issues,” he told AP.

Indeed, some of the achievements that Republican critics attack him for are the same issues that might play well among Democratic base voters. California under Newsom’s leadership has enacted progressive priorities such as expanded healthcare coverage regardless of immigration status, expanded paid sick leave, universal free school meals, a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, protections for women from other states seeking abortions, aggressive climate change and gun control laws, and a death penalty moratorium.

California also remains the nation’s most populous state and the world’s fourth-largest economy, even as critics decry the state’s high taxes that have pushed some businesses and residents alike into other states. The population has been growing since a COVID-era dip, however, climbing above 39.5 million in 2024, as AP News reported.

A Crowded Field and an Early Test

Newsom is not the only Democratic hopeful flocking to South Carolina. Pete Buttigieg, the former Transportation Secretary and another potential 2028 contender, visited the state in late August, seeking to rebuild support among Black voters who rejected his 2020 campaign, as AP News reported. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey have also made trips to the state as what is expected to be a large Democratic field begins to take shape.

Newsom’s political operation has raised $15.2 million through his small-dollar fundraising network for Democratic candidates, state parties and organizing efforts nationally, including more than $2.2 million directed toward Democrats in Southern states. That includes more than $390,000 for the South Carolina Democratic Party.

The governor’s South Carolina swing also offered an early look at his temperament on the campaign trail. In Hardeeville, a small city near the Georgia state line, he spoke at a church community room where more than 100 people gathered. At St. Helena Island, he addressed a crowd at the Penn Center, a cultural landmark with deep roots in the Gullah Geechee community. In Summerville, supporters waited over an hour for his arrival after traffic delays, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Sylvester Kimbrough, a 73-year-old voter in Hardeeville who came to Newsom’s event skeptical, left impressed by the governor’s message about fighting back against Trump and preventing the country from regressing on civil rights.

“I’m definitely gonna consider him,” Kimbrough said. “I’m gonna listen to some others, but he’s at the top of the list.”

What’s Next

While South Carolina voters may have had mixed views on California, several said they were drawn in by Newsom’s celebrity image. The 58-year-old Democrat certainly looked the part of a made-for-TV president as he charmed voters in his plain white dress shirt with sleeves rolled up and no tie.

“We don’t get that many famous people here in Aiken. He’s pretty famous,” said 73-year-old Monty Fetterolf, who attended one of Newsom’s Friday events in Aiken.

DeVito, the 78-year-old Democrat from Summerville, said Newsom still has work to do.

“He’s a little slick — not a lot of meat,” she said after listening to his speech in Dorchester. “But he’s good looking, which helps.”

Newsom has not formally declared his candidacy, and he has said he will consider running for president after the 2026 midterm elections. But his aggressive courtship of South Carolina voters — combined with his extensive fundraising network and national media presence — suggests the governor is positioning himself for a serious run.

The question that lingers, as he heads back to Sacramento to finish his final months as governor, is whether the state that made him famous will ultimately prove to be his greatest asset or his most significant obstacle.