Good move for a guy who run’s just behind Gavin Newsom in the early 2026 Presidential nomination sweepstakes…..
Buttigieg has consistently done well in Democratic early polling…..
But faces whispering about delectability due to his being gay….
South Carolina Black voters tend to be surprisingly center/right…..
We’ll see how Pete does there against Newsom or even Ossoff….
(Yes I AM excluding Kamala Harris, who I believe has no serious chance at the nomination)
Pete Buttigieg returned to South Carolina over the weekend, testing whether the Black voters who helped end his 2020 presidential campaign might give him a second look.
The former transportation secretary drew standing ovations at an NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner in Orangeburg, a reception far warmer than his fourth-place finish in the state’s 2020 primary. South Carolina now holds the first spot on the Democratic presidential primary calendar for 2028, making it essential ground for any candidate who wants the nomination.
Standing ovations in Orangeburg
Buttigieg spoke Saturday evening at a church in Orangeburg, a nearly three-quarters Black city with deep roots in the Civil Rights Movement. The crowd of more than 200 included local NAACP leaders, ministers and elected officials, the Associated Press reported.
“There is no such thing as again in real life. The only way out is through,” Buttigieg told the crowd. “If we recognize and embrace a future that is different from the past, we will do better.”
Orangeburg Mayor Michael Butler credited Buttigieg for helping secure a $22.7 million federal grant for a downtown revitalization project called the Railroad Corner during Buttigieg’s tenure in President Joe Biden’s Cabinet.
“His speech was what you talk about at the kitchen table. How America is going to survive all of this?” Butler said. “He brought hope to us.”
A crowded 2028 field already forming
Buttigieg told reporters Saturday he has made no final decision about running, saying he is “totally focused on 2026.” But the trip had the markings of a campaign. He raised money Friday in Charleston with a U.S. House candidate and spoke Saturday morning at a policy conference before visiting Claflin University, a historically Black university in Orangeburg. The South Carolina stop came a week after he visited Nevada, another early-voting state.
He is far from the only Democrat making the trip. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey have all visited the state. Former Vice President Kamala Harris already has deep ties there.
Black voters hold the keys to the nomination
Black voters make up a majority of South Carolina’s Democratic electorate, and the party moved the state to the front of its calendar in part to amplify their voice. Former Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said the math is simple.
“If you can’t win Black voters, you can’t be the nominee of our party,” Harrison said.
Harrison called Buttigieg’s weekend visit a “good start” but cautioned that all potential candidates have a long road ahead. “It can’t just be, ‘Oh, pop in and then I’m going to pop back out,’” he said.
Buttigieg used his Saturday speech to address what he described as a “multidecade effort” to weaken the Voting Rights Act, warning of a broader push “to demolish African American political power.” Earlier this year, a Supreme Court decision weakened a core provision of the landmark law……
image….Yahoo
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.