Buttigieg returns to South Carolina as Democrats begin positioning for 2028

The 2026 midterms are still more than two months away, but in South Carolina this past weekend

2028 already looked very much underway. Pete Buttigieg returning to the state as he weighs

another run for president, and he's already drawing some fire from a potential Democratic

rival. Buttigieg spent the weekend making the rounds, including the NAACP dinner in Orangeburg

with a particular focus on black voters who helped end his 2020 presidential campaign

after he won just 3% of the vote in South Carolina. Their support could matter even more next time around

South Carolina is now set to hold the Democrats' first presidential primary in 2028

Most Americans, and even in a conservative state like South Carolina, most voters disagree with the Republican agenda to cut taxes for the wealthy

disagree with the Republican tariffs, disagree with the Republican war in Iran

disagree with the Republican cuts to Medicaid and to SNAP and agree with us on doing more for health care more for education more to bring prices down But Buttigieg isn even out of the state and the 2028 jabs are already starting

A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom, himself a possible 2028 contender

mocking Buttigieg's absence from South Carolina, posting on X, first time in SC in three years

Nice. And they're hardly alone. Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Congressman Ro Khanna and Senator Cory Booker have already made their own trips to South Carolina as the potential Democratic field starts taking shape

Republicans are already working the state, too. President Trump was in South Carolina Friday campaigning for Darlene Graham ahead of the midterms

I watched another commentator say the Republican Party is only 70 percent

Let me tell you, the Republican Party, I think the real Republican Party is 100 percent

Make America great. So while the next election is still 2026, the maneuvering for 2028 is clearly underway