- Newsom’s PAC gave $1,000 to Charleston mayoral candidate Clay Middleton
- The state was crucial to Joe Biden’s 2020 primary victory
California Governor Gavin Newsom has once again sparked speculation about potential presidential ambitions after his super PAC wrote a check to the Democratic mayoral candidate in Charleston, South Carolina – the home state of a critical early primary.
It comes after a Sunday New York Times / A Siena poll shows President Joe Biden trailing former President Donald Trump in five of six swing states, amid lingering concerns about his age and performance on the economy.
Newsom has long sworn off interest in visiting the White House in 2024 — even as he visited Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping and will hold a one-on-one debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this month.
His Campaign for Democracy PAC topped out with a $1,000 contribution to Charleston mayoral candidate Clay Middleton. Axios reported.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s PAC has donated to a mayoral candidate in Charleston, South Carolina – a state that was crucial to Joe Biden’s primary victory
Middleton is a close ally of Rep. James C. Clyburn, whose endorsement of Biden helped give the president a crucial victory on his way to the White House. A former Clyburn assistant, he is running against incumbent John Tecklenburg. He also sent a request to raise money for Middleton.
The attack and accusations Tecklenburg – a music school in Berklee – for being “good at piano, but not at being mayor,” and says he was “MIA” during the 2022 King Street riots and massive flooding.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is also donating to Middleton, a second-term billionaire who has himself been mentioned as a potential presidential candidate.
Newsom has been the subject of speculation about seeking higher public office due to his very public profile, including a trip to Beijing last month to meet with top officials including Xi Jinping on climate issues, and a tour of the Great Wall of China.
But he has emerged as a loyal Biden defender, taking on conservative media hosts and acting as a surrogate during the second presidential debate.
President Joe Biden has poor marks on the economy and has seen a drop in support among Black and Hispanic voters in a new New York Times/Siena poll, amid continued voter concerns about the age of 80 year-old president.
He will help host Biden later this month when the president hosts an Asia-Pacific summit with world leaders, with his own potential Xi Jinping meeting on the agenda.
In Sunday’s New York Times/Siena poll, Democrats again wondered whether the 80-year-old Biden was their strongest candidate for a possible rematch with Donald Trump.
According to the poll, Trump led Biden in five of the six swing states. That made former Barack Obama adviser David Axelrod publicly reflect on what Biden should do.
‘What he has to decide is whether that is wise; Whether it is in HIS interest or in that of the country?’ he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
South Carolina will hold its first officially sanctioned primary this year under a new DNC calendar, though New Hampshire is jealously guarding its status as first in the nation.