Potential 2028 Presidential Hopefuls Moore, Walz Steal Show at South Carolina Democratic Weekend

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Minutes before 10 p.m. Friday, after Democratic speakers led the audience in jeers to Republicans’ efforts to slash jobs and health care, and encouraged people to get involved and vote, line dancing broke out.

That mix of politics and fun, mostly the latter, is what makes Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D-S.C.) annual fish fry in the state’s capital city so popular, attendees said.

“We all came out, and everybody’s enjoying themselves,” said Shantell Zimmerman, 58, of Columbia.

“It brings out the community,” agreed Dionne Brown, 55, of Irmo, who’s been attending the event for six years. “Then we actually get to discuss our views and takeaways.”

Hundreds of people attended the event that started in 1992, the year voters first elected Clyburn to the 6th Congressional District, as a thank you to the voters who couldn’t afford the Democratic Party’s high-dollar fundraisers.

Over time, the “World Famous Annual Fish Fry” — which includes free food and drinks — has become a must-attend event for Democrats seeking local, statewide and national office.

This year was no different, even if Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Kamala Harris’ 2024 running mate — said they’re not running for the 2028 nomination.

“I know I’m not running,” Moore told reporters Friday. “But the thing I’m also very clear about is that anyone who’s talking about 2028 is not taking 2025 very seriously.”

Moore and Walz, as well as Clyburn and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison of Columbia, emphasized the importance of focusing on what’s happening now in Washington, D.C.

Proposed cuts to government safety nets like Medicaid and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to rapidly slash federal spending were among the topics the governors touched on Friday during speeches at the fish fry, as well as the state Democratic Party’s Blue Palmetto Fundraising Dinner the same night.

“I taught school long enough to know it’s because they’re weak and they’re bullies, and when you stand up to them, they fade away,” said Walz, a former high school geography teacher.

While both declined suggestions that they’re running for president, there’s wide speculation otherwise. Their addresses at the events in South Carolina — which last year got promoted from holding the Democratic Party’s first-in-the-South to first-in-the-nation presidential primary — sounded a lot like campaign speeches.

Walz will also speak Saturday at the state Democratic Party’s annual convention.

Lucy Owens, an Anderson County delegate to the state convention, discounted the governors’ refusals, saying the 2028 presidential campaign has clearly begun.

“They’re all going to come through here. They’re the first ones,” she said of Moore and Walz.

In 2019, the fish fry drew more than 20 potential candidates hoping to appeal to South Carolina Democrats.

The following year, Joe Biden won the South Carolina Democratic primary, a victory that ended up vaulting him to the presidency. South Carolina’s primary was elevated for 2024 as Biden’s thank you to the state.

With Biden gone, the Democratic party in flux, and Harrison no longer leading the national party, South Carolina maintaining its first-in-the-nation status is in question.

Clyburn’s comments Friday suggest he knows it won’t. He doesn’t care if the state is first, just that it’s early, he said.

“The most important hitter on a team is the cleanup hitter. He comes in fourth place,” Clyburn told reporters at his event. “I’m not concerned about whether or not we’re first, second, third. Please, let us be at least four.”

That would take South Carolina back to having the first primary in the South.

In the aftermath of Trump’s landslide victory and the Republican Party gaining control of both chambers of Congress, the Democratic Party is in a reset. Walz and Moore, the first Black governor in Maryland’s history, are among the early faces of it.

Winning South Carolina, which changed the trajectory of Biden’s 2020 presidential run, will be crucial for Democratic hopefuls.

Owens, the Anderson County delegate, pointed to the stage where Walz and Moore spoke, saying every Democrat who wants to be president will eventually appear in that exact spot.

“They got to come through here. Not South Carolina. They got to go right there,” she said.

Both governors received raucous ovations from South Carolina Democrats, drawing cheers, standing ovations and even a few laughs as they took shots at the GOP.

Owens said “they’re both very great candidates,” and she’s “excited” to hear more from them over the coming years.

That was the general consensus from attendees who spoke with the SC Daily Gazette. But they were significantly more familiar with Walz because of his time on the campaign trail last year with Vice President Harris.

“I know less about Wes Moore than I do about Tim Walz, but I think he’s a good speaker,” said Laura Lowery, a 69-year-old from Fountain Inn. “I think he’s done a good job in his state as well.”

Moore has recently come under fire for vetoing a bill that would establish a commission to examine state and federal policies from 1877 to 1965 and come up with recommendations for reparations.

South Carolina Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, had asked the state party to remove Moore as the keynote speaker at Friday’s Blue Palmetto Dinner because of the veto. Party leaders never responded to questions about that request.

But for at least some attendees, the veto perturbed them too. “I didn’t understand why he would do that,” said Tonya Winbush of Anderson.

But once Winbush, a 50-year-old Army veteran, heard Moore speak about his time in the Army, as well as his pardoning of 175,000 people with convictions for cannabis possession, her opinion changed.

“I think when you don’t know the whole story and you just listen to sound bites, which is what we do a lot, we’ll make brash judgments about people, when we are really fighting the same fight,” she said.

– This story first appeared in the South Carolina Daily Gazette, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: info@scdailygazette.com.