California Gov. Gavin Newsom traveled to South Carolina last week, further fueling speculation about his ambitions to run for the White House.
He reportedly visited churches, cafes and community centers in South Carolina, an early primary state, to speak to voters and local Democratic officials ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“It’s not what happens to us, it’s how we respond to it. And our opportunity presents itself anew. In 18 months, you have the power to end Donald Trump’s presidency,” Newsom said during a 15-minute stop in Bennettsville.
He criticized President Donald Trump’s second term, calling it “an alarming six months,” as CNN reported.
He also positioned his state as “the most un-Trump state.”
While he spent a few minutes talking about helping to rebuild the Democratic Party, he devoted more time to leveling several attacks at the Trump White House over many issues.
Of the deportations of undocumented migrants in Los Angeles, Newsom criticized Trump for sending “hundreds and hundreds of military troops into the park ... in the middle of the day, where kids this old were at summer camp.”
“Not one arrest was made. But what he was doing — he wanted to make a point. Cruelty is the point. Cruelty is the point,” he said.
Newsom also called out the Trump administration for blaming California officials after the devastating wildfires in January but not doing the same while Texas navigates the aftermath of the tragic flooding from last week.
“Do you remember his response to the disaster in California? He blamed every single person — not a peep of blame in Texas,” Newsom said.
Newsom hasn’t said outright whether he will run for president.
But he admitted he would consider such an opportunity, should it present itself.
“I’m not thinking about running, but it’s a path that I could see unfold,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
His presence in South Carolina, a strong Republican state, could be the start of laying some serious groundwork for 2028.
He isn’t the only Democrat making moves.
Ruben Gallego to head to Iowa State Fair
Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, who was elected to the Senate earlier this year after serving in the House, is set to travel to Iowa for the State Fair on Aug. 8.
The Iowa fair is an anticipated stop for many presidential candidates since the state kicks off the presidential primary race for Republicans and is a critical state for the Democratic nomination, too. Trump won Iowa for the third consecutive time in 2024, solidifying its presence as reliably Republican-leaning, according to Axios.
The state fair provides candidates with the perfect setting to mingle with voters, eat a corn dog and take selfies.
Among Republicans, the likes of Trump, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, and Vivek Ramaswamy made appearances at the fair in 2023. Democratic candidates — Joe Biden (as the incumbent president), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson — also attended the fair.
After his visit, Gallego, a Democrat, will headline a town hall in Quad Cities Aug. 9, where he plans to talk about Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” that was signed into law last week. According to The Hill, he already held a virtual town hall in partnership with the Alaska Democratic Party last week, in response to the tax and spending bill’s passage.
Gallego’s chief of staff, Raphael Chavez-Fernandez, told the Des Moines Register in a statement said that both Gallego and voters of Iowa understand what it’s like to work hard for what you want.
“That’s why he’s headed to the Hawkeye State to call out those who backed Trump’s billionaire tax scam at the expense of Iowa’s good, hard-working people,” Fernandez said.
“Ruben’s not afraid to say the quiet part out loud: that Iowa families are getting screwed.”
In May, he held a town hall in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, one of the few suburban counties that shows no loyalty toward either party and typically indicates the larger voting pattern among suburban and rural voters.
Gallego’s packed travel schedule isn’t a confirmation of his intent to run for president, but it hints at his interest.
In an interview, Gallego said “of course” a White House bid has crossed his mind, and that he had received encouragement from some donors and members of his party.
But “am I thinking about it right now? Absolutely not,” he told NBC News.
Wes Moore comes to Idaho for billionaire summer camp
Another 2028 potential candidate, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, recently made his way to the West to join a sea of tech, media and finance moguls at the so-called “summer camp for billionaires” in Idaho.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are some names expected to attend the Sun Valley Conference from July 9 to 12.
This marks Moore’s second trip to the conference. He last attended it in 2023 and raised funds for the Democratic Governors Association, where he serves as the finance chair.
Other politicians expected to be spotted in Idaho this week are former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican.
What is the Republican game plan after Trump?
Youngkin is also making appearances across U.S., potentially positioning himself to be in a good spot should the opportunity for a White House bid arise.
Trump has dominated the last three GOP presidential races. The term-limited president jokes about running and serving another term, but, in May, he proposed national security adviser and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance as his possible successors.
But that doesn’t mean the door is closed for other candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Youngkin.
As Axios reported, Youngkin will visit Iowa and South Carolina for GOP events and fundraising later this month after popping up at state party events in California, New York and North Carolina.