{"id":215499,"date":"2026-09-04T22:57:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T22:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/215499\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T22:57:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T22:57:53","slug":"newsom-appearance-in-rural-south-carolina-draws-support-and-protesters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/215499\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsom appearance in rural South Carolina draws support and protesters"},"content":{"rendered":"

DORCHESTER COUNTY, South Carolina \u2014 California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s<\/a> first stops in South Carolina<\/a> on Thursday had gone largely according to plan.<\/p>\n

In Hardeeville, the Democratic governor was welcomed warmly with a standing ovation. The reception remained friendly in Beaufort, where another enthusiastic crowd sweated it out at the former Penn School, one of the nation\u2019s first schools for formerly enslaved people, to hear him speak.<\/p>\n

Then Newsom arrived in rural Dorchester County \u2014 an hour and a half late \u2014 and was met by a small but spirited group of protesters who stood outside the venue holding signs that offered a decidedly different message: \u201cWrong Coast,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t California My South Carolina,\u201d \u201cGo Home Gavin,\u201d and \u201cClean Up Your State First.\u201d<\/p>\n

One sign featured a map purporting to show reports of fecal matter across San Francisco<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestersProtesters outside Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s (D-CA) event in Dorchester County, South Carolina, on Thursday, Sept, 3, 2026. (Barnini Chakraborty\/Washington Examiner)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the grassroots of the grassroots,\u201d CJ Westfall, chairman of the Dorchester County Republican Party, who organized the protest, told the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n

As Newsom arrived, protesters shouted, \u201cI want to see your hair!\u201d and \u201cGo home, Gavin!\u201d<\/p>\n

Inside, however, the mood could not have been more different.<\/p>\n

Newsom was greeted by another standing-room-only crowd \u2014 his third of the day \u2014 that clapped, cheered, and hung on his every word as he delivered a warning about President Donald Trump<\/a>, voting rights, and what he described as threats to American democracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw the president of the United States try to light democracy on fire, try to destroy our democracy,\u201d Newsom said. \u201cHere he is trying to rig the election before one vote is cast. The game has changed. That means we need to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

One woman sitting in the front row held up three signs that read: \u201cHold me!\u201d \u201cSOS,\u201d and \u201cSAVE US\u201d on yellow construction paper. \u00a0She, like countless others, waited in line to have her picture taken with the governor.<\/p>\n

The split-screen scene offered perhaps the clearest snapshot yet of Newsom\u2019s political challenge as he makes another swing through the South, including the state that holds the first 2028<\/a> Democratic presidential primary.<\/p>\n

To his supporters inside, Newsom was a combative national Democratic voice willing to confront Trump and urge his party to fight harder. Outside, he was the embodiment of everything South Carolina Republicans say they do not want: California<\/a> liberalism, high costs, homelessness, and the policies of a state they frequently invoke as a warning about Democratic governance.<\/p>\n

Newsom used his remarks to argue that Democrats have spent too much time waiting for a presidential candidate to rescue them while Republicans have built political power from the ground up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re consumed by the \u2018savior,\u2019\u201d Newsom said. \u201cThe perfect person that\u2019s going to come along on a white horse and save the day. And these guys are ruthless, focusing on judges and city council races and school board races. And they\u2019ve earned their majorities in a lot of these states because they\u2019re out there grinding, and we\u2019re out there watching cable TV waiting for the 2028 presidential calendar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so I\u2019m trying to just reorient this into a different framework,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Newsom\u2019s trip through South Carolina comes as he increasingly positions himself as a leading national Democratic voice ahead of the 2028 presidential contest, even as he insists his focus is broader than his own political future.<\/p>\n

\"DemocratsDemocrats in Hardeeville, South Carolina, listen to Newsom talk at the St. Stephen AME Fellowship Hall on Thursday. (Barnini Chakraborty\/Washington Examiner)<\/p>\n

His message Thursday was that Democrats need to stop waiting for Washington \u2014 or the next presidential nominee \u2014 and begin competing aggressively at every level of government.<\/p>\n

Newsom also briefly touched on another political fight back home: the contentious race to replace Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi<\/a> in Congress.<\/p>\n

Newsom said he expects to endorse someone in the San Francisco congressional race, though he hasn\u2019t yet decided which candidate he would support.<\/p>\n

The race has become an increasingly bitter contest between state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t even gotten into that yet,\u201d Newsom told reporters. \u201cObviously, I\u2019ve worked extraordinarily closely with Scott, and so I have a lot of respect and admiration for Scott. And I haven\u2019t even weighed into that race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pelosi has endorsed Chan, who has assembled an extensive list of prominent backers, including Sen. Adam Schiff<\/a> (D-CA) and former Sen. Barbara Boxer, as well as Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), and Ro Khanna<\/a> (D-CA), and former San Francisco Mayors Willie Brown and Art Agnos. Major labor organizations, including the California Federation of Labor Unions, the California Teachers Association, SEIU California, and the San Francisco Labor Council, have also backed Chan.<\/p>\n

Newsom said he expects to make a batch of endorsements in California, including in congressional districts redrawn under Proposition 50, the ballot measure he spearheaded last year to make five Republican-held seats more competitive for Democrats. Newsom also said he plans to weigh in on statewide ballot measures.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Newsom is scheduled to continue his South Carolina swing with stops in Aiken and West Columbia. He will also participate in a fireside chat with state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, the Democratic candidate for governor, and attend a meet-and-greet in Lancaster.<\/p>\n

Newsom heads to North Carolina on Saturday for events in Mecklenburg County and Monroe.<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s protest in Dorchester County underscored the obstacles facing Newsom as he attempts to make his arguments in conservative territory.<\/p>\n

The Republican National Committee<\/a> has already shrugged off his Southern swing. Emma Hall, the RNC\u2019s southeast regional communications director, tied Newsom\u2019s record to that of former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is among the party\u2019s most prominent figures in the state.<\/p>\n

NEWSOM\u2019S SOUTH CAROLINA TRIP DOUBLES AS TEST OF DEMOCRATS\u2019 REBUILDING STRATEGY<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEmptying prisons, coddling illegal aliens, going after parents\u2019 rights, and pushing the far-left gender agenda on kids may sound like Gavin Newsom\u2019s California nightmare, but it\u2019s Roy Cooper\u2019s record too,\u201d Hall told the Washington Examiner. \u201cCooper and Newsom are radical lunatics, and North Carolinians should run like hell from both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether the receptions there resemble the standing-room-only crowds inside Thursday\u2019s events or the protesters waiting outside in Dorchester may offer another glimpse of the political terrain Newsom is entering as he carries his California brand to more voters in the South.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DORCHESTER COUNTY, South Carolina \u2014 California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s first stops in South Carolina on Thursday had gone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[147],"tags":[4991,2909,544,5682,542,4866,96410,4867],"class_list":["post-215499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gavin-newsom","tag-2026-elections","tag-2028-elections","tag-california","tag-campaign","tag-gavin-newsom","tag-north-carolina","tag-rural-america","tag-south-carolina"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117215252119733295","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}