Pete Buttigieg Returns To South Carolina As He Weighs Another White House Run

Pete Buttigieg spent the weekend in South Carolina, six years after a fourth-place primary finish there helped sink his first presidential bid, drawing standing ovations at an NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner in Orangeburg. He spoke at a policy conference, visited Claflin University, and raised money in Charleston for a Democratic House candidate, all while insisting he has made no decision about 2028.

South Carolina is set to hold the first Democratic primary in 2028, and Black voters, who make up a majority of the state's Democratic electorate, are widely seen as the gatekeepers of any nomination. Jaime Harrison, a former DNC chair, put it plainly: you cannot be the party's nominee without winning that bloc.

Buttigieg's trip followed a visit to Nevada the week before, and included the traditional invisible-campaign trappings — fundraising, policy speeches, campus stops — while he told reporters he's 'totally focused on 2026.' A Claflin student who met him came away impressed but wanted to see more candidates who look like her.

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