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California Governor Gavin Newsom recently toured South Carolina in an attempt to rally Democrats prior to the midterms, and build buzz for his impending 2028 presidential run.

Even among Newsom’s Democratic audience in the state, there was skepticism about his chances of winning the nomination in 2028. People’s doubts largely centered around California’s reputation across the country.

One South Carolina voter and former Los Angeles resident summed it up by saying, “The question is how he’s perceived outside of California. People might think he’s too Hollywood.” Another Democratic voter echoed this criticism by calling Newsom “slick,” which is a common view of him even in California.

Newsom responded to criticism at one South Carolina event by claiming, “Trump, the Republicans, these protesters, want to bring us back to a pre-1960s world.” Evoking the specter of the 1950s is a common tactic among Democratic politicians, even as recent years have put the lie to the idea that the party’s social views enjoy widespread popularity.

In other remarks to supporters in the state, Newsom leaned into a President Bill Clinton-esque, therapeutic way of speaking, saying about the COVID era, “We went through all the social unrest. George Floyd, we went through all the challenges associated with supply chains. Wars, frustration, doubt, anxiety, fear. And that’s stacking. It’s stacking the stress.” He did not mention the role he and his party played in creating this environment, due to their commitment to mask and lockdown mania, as well as Black Lives Matter extremism. As is typical, Newsom refers to the events of the early 2020s as something that just passively happened, where nothing could have possibly been done differently.

Newsom will leave office in January 2027, having completed two terms as California’s governor. In addition to having to shake his pervasive limousine liberal image, it remains to be seen whether he is the choice of his party’s core, as Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and other candidates to his left continue to gain momentum nationwide. While it is early to predict now, he may ultimately have to face down being simultaneously too liberal for the country, and not left-wing enough for his party’s diehards.