Buttigieg presses retail-style campaign in South Carolina as 2028 bid looms

Pete Buttigieg visited South Carolina for a hands-on, retail-style push to test support for a possible 2028 White House bid, meeting voters and local officials in Orangeburg and framing his message around kitchen-table economics and democratic reform. He emphasized the link between economic concerns and a functioning political system while warning that efforts to weaken the Voting Rights Act threaten Black political power. The trip reflects a broader Democratic effort to cultivate support in early states as multiple potential candidates, including Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear and Ro Khanna, weigh the field for 2028.