California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaking in Aiken on Sept. 4. Carl Dawson/Staff
AIKEN — California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke in Aiken on Sept. 4 as part of a S.C. Democratic Party effort to rally its core supporters in advance of the Nov. 3 midterm election.
It was one of six planned appearances in South Carolina, which will hold its first-in-the-nation Democratic presidential primary on Jan. 22, 2028.
“We’re using this opportunity we have as first-in-the-nation to bring people to South Carolina, but actually make the focus on local races as opposed to it all being about whether Gavin Newsom is going to run for president or not,” said Jay Parmley, executive director of the S.C. Democratic Party. “So, it’s a twofer.”
Parmley said the state party has candidates in seven U.S. Congressional districts and all 124 district in the S.C. House of Representatives.
A pre-registered audience of about 150 were present in the upstairs Ogletree Room of the Center for African American History, Art & Culture at 120 York St. NE.
Newsom spoke for about 20 minutes, criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump as being corrupt, and of using intimidation and lawsuits to suppress voter turnout by his opposition.
“This guy’s trying to rig the election before a single vote is cast. He’s given up on persuasion. He cannot win the midterms on facts on the ground. The only way he can win is if he rigs the election,” Newsom said.
“These guys are not screwing around. That is a preview of things to come this November. That’s reality. That’s the world we’re living in. It’s not just a corruption story. It’s not just a great grift. This guy is trying to wreck this country, just as he tried to do on January 6th, where he tried to light democracy on fire and tried to destroy this democracy,” Newsom said.
“Our founding fathers didn’t live and die to see us roll over. They designed us for this moment. We the people,” he said, bringing the focus to local voter turnout.
“It is for you to recognize that you have agency, that you can shape the future,” he said. “The future is not something to experience. It’s something to manifest. It’s not in front of you. It’s inside of you.”
“Focus on your local community, turn out in record numbers, because if this guy wants to steal the election, that will be impossible,” Newsom said.
Christale Spain, chair of the S.C. Democratic Party, said the event was part of the party’s “On The Road” series, which launched in summer 2025 to bring national Democratic figures to rural South Carolina counties.
“We focus on counties where Democrats have been losing,” she said. “I’ve taken some of the biggest names that we can get nationally and taken them to some of the most rural, reddest places.”
“We’re really focused on talking to our voters and making sure that we have a high voter turnout in November,” she said.
“We’re here because we need to make sure Bill Clyburn keeps his seat,” Spain said. “We need to make sure that we can elect other Democrats in the statehouse from Aiken County, from Edgefield County. So that is the goal of this trip.”
Aiken County Democratic Party chair Christina Cue said the goal of the event was “to galvanize and really energize our Aiken County Democrats to make sure that they feel empowered and feel excited heading into the November elections.”
“This is a really great opportunity to bring folks out to meet elected officials of this level who are aspiring to maybe be possible candidates in 2028, but, also, this is an organizing opportunity, where we really get folks excited,” she said.
“We want all of these folks that came out today to get mobilized and energized to work on behalf of our candidates, so we can win in November,” Cue said.
S.C. Rep. Bill Clyburn spoke to the audience before Newsom’s remarks.
“We know we are preaching to the choir,” Clyburn said. “We want you to go out and carry the word.”