Columbia, South Carolina – Democrats here took a crucial first step to providing President Joe Biden five years ago. Now they hope that his discolored legacy will put their future at risk as an early major condition.
Already, there are tips back to New Hampshire, where some Democrats hold their party’s first primary contest, but Progressive wants to see Nevada, a high-working force, take the lead. And there are even stories of more friendly southern states like Georgia and North Carolina, like South Carolina’s leaps.
“The unfortunate part is that Democrats say it, and they think it [South Carolina leading] Bre Booker-Maxwell, a woman on the National Committee, said she was on the sidelines of the party treaty.
Before answering herself, she questioned the rationale for such a decision. “The fact that the man ran for the second time, and maybe he should have run?” she asked skeptical. “Some people need to get over their problems with themselves and Joe Biden.”
Attempts to move past Biden and bad results in 2024 went on this weekend. The party insiders hosted a pair of out-of-state governors with obvious but unpublished vision regarding the 2028 nomination.
government. Maryland’s Wes Moore and Minnesota’s Tim Waltz captivated the outdoor stage in celebration of a white bread fillet with the world-famous fish fries, an annual tradition hosted by state’s Democratic kingmaker Rep. Jim Clyburn.
Waltz, who first met the crowd, spoke of his failures from the final cycle and Democrats who need to expand their reach beyond a few swing states.
“I’ve been to the same seven damn states over and over again,” Waltz said. “In South Carolina, people are angry, in Texas, in Indiana. …We need to change our attitude, compete in every district, compete for every school board seat.”
Speaking at the party’s party’s Blue Palmetto dinner early Friday, Moore cheered from mostly black participants in the fried fish, urging them not to run in the face of challenges when he said, “We’re from a resilient culture.” He then pivots at Trump and suggests that what he would be produced if his so-called big beautiful bill was handed over would push tens of thousands of children into poverty, while enriching the president’s billionaire companions.
After the speech was wrapped, several people in the crowd broke into the line dance, with the South Carolina Crooner 803 Fresh campaign anthem “Boots on the Ground” blaring over the speakers.
It wasn’t the 2019 Ripler Ring event that cavalry of 21 presidential candidates, including Biden, pleaded attendees who gave stump speeches. A gathering at the Edvent Children’s Museum was held on Friday night as many Democrats are still tackling the pain of widespread election defeats.
Biden’s return to the national spotlight – through negative reports How they are detailed in his inner circle It protected the president’s worsening state from the outside world.
“This story about President Biden and what to have, what to do, what to do, what to do, all of this is a lot of bullshit,” said Trav Robertson, a longtime Democratic operative and former party chairman. “We can die if you want, but it’s the past. South Carolina represents becoming the future.”
South Carolina, a state where Black Democrats make up a significant portion of the main voters, played a pivotal role in reviving Biden’s MO death campaign. When Clyburn threw support behind Biden ahead of the South Carolina Primary in 2020, it stacked him up to nomination and later presidency. In return, Biden has pressured Democrats to overturn the traditional nomination calendar by moving the nation into a lead-off position.
However, the election situation was tenuous. By running for reelection, Biden took energy from the 2024 primary. Now, party officials are enduring their status as torn off kickoff state.
“I think it’s a mistake to act like a place in South Carolina. [at the top] “We’re a sought-after,” said Nick Sotil, lawyer and executive director for the House of Representatives Democrats in South Carolina.
Like almost every Democrat in the state, he points out that South Carolina’s profits are enormous. In addition to paying homage to important democratic voting blocks, small states with relatively cheap media markets do not destroy bankrupt campaigns. The campaign is a mixture of urban, suburban and rural areas, all likely to appear in gas tanks. Then there is Bill Clinton, presidents of South Carolina’s presidential election history, Barack Obama in 2008, and Biden in 2020, in contrast to New Hampshire and Iowa, among other things.
“We’re doing it right, and it’s a proven track record,” added Sottile. “What we’re talking about is not one of the elections and candidates.”
That feeling is not shared by many people outside the state.
Longtime members of the DNC committee will help determine the main order of the president, given anonymity, to discuss informal debates that suggest that South Carolina’s current location at the top of the calendar will be scrutinized in the coming months.
“Clearly, South Carolina members would want to continue to be the first to be present on the calendar for obvious reasons,” the person said. “With Biden gone, I don’t think anyone else will feel the obligation to keep South Carolina at the top of the calendar.”
Biden may have unintentionally crushed the next South Carolina cycle. This only adds to a sense of betrayal for his role in President Trump’s arrival.
“There are people who are angry like hell about everything that happened in 2024,” said Sam Squardon of Charleston.
He admits he is one of the few parties in the party who believed in Biden’s promises to be the next generation of “bridge” candidates. He wanted to take up the job as chairman of the Charleston County Democrats in March 2023 and host a robust primary. A month later, Biden announced his re-elected bid.
“There’s a special connection here that’s a deeper attachment than most state Democrats have to President Biden. “But yeah, then, I think Biden has an extra anger… don’t put our best feet forward.”
Some believe that scapegoats are too convenient for the broader party issues. When selecting party candidates for black voters, it was able to encourage erode trust in the bloc, which is already drifting away from the party.
“It’s a slap in the face… For Black Americans, people are questioning Joe Biden at this point,” said Antojuan Sheeright, a Democratic strategist who has resumed his role as Fishfly host. “It was Joe Biden who had the courage to declare that the spine of steel, courage, and the voice of black Americans should be heard first in the presidential preference process.”
However, Seawright also shared concerns that too many voters here view Democrats as not contacted.
“I think trust was part of the formula for Trump’s success in the last election cycle,” Sealight added. “In my opinion, there were people who voted against a democratic brand, not necessarily for Donald Trump.”
At Palmetto dinner, Jame Harrison, honorary chairman of the Democratic National Committee and of Orangeburg, South Carolina, has spinned the crowd by putting a positive spin on the party’s state party position since Biden left the stage.
“We’re more organized, we’re more lively and more concentrated than ever,” he said. “I’m now logged to the South Carolina Republicans. 2026 will be a calculation.”
Columbia-based Democratic strategist Amanda Radoy was involved in Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, but is another South Carolina defender. But she’s not optimistic given that South Carolina Democrats, who have been locked out of power in the state for a long time, have struggled with the final cycle.
“We lost [state] Loveday includes two prominent black lawmakers, including Senator Gerald Malloy and state legislator Joseph Jefferson.
Republicans flipped four state Senate seats in the final cycle, with only 12 Democrats remaining. And while Trump’s victory was unquestionable in the presidential election, he increased his margin by 6 percentage points over 2020.
All this encourages speculation that North Carolina and Georgia, South Carolina neighbours who have ticked Democratic statewide victory in recent cycles, have a better debate that hurdles South Carolina on their primary calendar.
