Pete Buttigieg returns to first-in-the-nation South Carolina with a fresh appeal to Black voters
Former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg is re-engaging with Black voters in South Carolina as he explores a potential 2028 presidential bid. He is focusing on themes of civil rights, economic justice, and the defense of democracy to address past shortcomings in his outreach.
Why it matters
Buttigieg's strategy highlights the evolving priorities of the Democratic base and the importance of South Carolina in future presidential nominating contests.
Pete Buttigieg has been to this small but historic city in South Carolina’s Midlands at least twice before, as an underdog presidential candidate in 2020 and then as the better-known transportation secretary under President Joe Biden in 2023. Now a private citizen eying a second White House bid, Buttigieg returned this weekend with renewed urgency, appealing to Black voters who have newly solidified influence in the 2028 nominating process and whom he failed to win over in his last presidential campaign. Buttigieg told party activists during a morning speech in Florence that Republicans were using redistricting as “the culmination of a generational project to dismantle Black representation.” He held a roundtable with students at a historically Black college where he discussed his idea of reparations for slavery.
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