California Gov. Gavin Newsom promoted his more than 2,000-mile jaunt from California to South Carolina as a bid to help the party win back the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026, but most people there saw it as a precursor to a 2028 presidential run.

Gavin Newsom on Tuesday launched a two-day tour of South Carolina, calling on voters across rural areas — some tucked in GOP strongholds — to exercise their “moral authority” in standing up to President Donald Trump and Republicans in next year's midterm elections.

Gavin Newsom, speaking in the small city of Camden, South Carolina, on Tuesday, slammed President Donald Trump's administration for what he said was a reversal of civil rights and called on Democrats in the Palmetto State to vote in the midterms.