California Gov. Gavin Newsom is embarking on a two-day tour in South Carolina starting Tuesday, engaging with voters in rural regions and some Republican strongholds in the early-voting state, further hinting at a potential 2028 presidential bid by the Democrat.

Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, Newsom is expected to visit eight locations across the state, with state Democratic Party officials noting his itinerary includes stops at coffee shops, small businesses, and churches.

This commitment of time in a state crucial for determining his party’s presidential candidates, along with Newsom’s route through some of its more conservative areas, indicates that the governor is aiming to overcome his San Francisco liberal reputation, position himself ahead of what promises to be a competitive 2028 race, and connect with the varied Democratic voter base, whose support is deemed essential for securing the party’s nomination.

Starting in South Carolina’s northeast on Tuesday, Newsom then turns on Wednesday toward the conservative Upstate, among the state’s most GOP-rich areas. He kicks off that day with an event in the small town of Seneca, which four-term GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham calls home. In last year’s general election, President Donald Trump won more than 75% of votes cast in surrounding Oconee County.

Treading in that territory fits with the image that Newsom has been cultivating for himself ahead of a possible 2028 White House bid.

Increasingly willing to break from some of the policies that have defined his brand and his deeply Democratic state, Newsom has hosted Trump’s allies on his podcast, even stunning some members of his own party by agreeing with podcast guests on issues such as restricting transgender women and girls in sports. Saying dismantling police departments was “lunacy,” Newsom also kept silent when longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon falsely said Trump won the 2020 presidential election against Democrat Joe Biden.

Although the 2028 Democratic primary calendar won’t be set for many months, potential candidates for the party’s upcoming presidential slate have already started visiting South Carolina, with the expectation that the state will continue to play a pivotal role.

At the urging of Biden — whose 2020 candidacy was saved by his resounding South Carolina primary win — the state led off Democrats’ 2024 calendar, and party chair Christale Spain has said that she will renew the argument to keep the state’s No. 1 position in the next cycle. South Carolina has long been the first southern state to hold a primary, giving it a unique role in the Democratic nomination process due to its diverse electorate, particularly the significant influence of Black voters.

In May, a pair of governors — Minnesota’s Tim Walz and Maryland’s Wes Moore — headlined a weekend of events hosted by South Carolina Democrats, introducing themselves and testing out their possible candidacy arguments in front of the party faithful.

Both men also addressed attendees at Rep. Jim Clyburn’s World Famous Fish Fry, a storied night of cold drinks, hot fried fish and raucous political stumping in which scores of Democratic presidential hopefuls have participated through the years.

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