Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is headed to South Carolina to shore up the Democrats’ chances in the Senate special election, as the party sees an opening following Darline Graham Nordone‘s debate gaffe.
Nordone’s live admission that she didn’t know much about Taiwan, China, or foreign policy — her late brother’s expertise — has triggered panic among Republicans and hope among Democrats. Graham Nordone won President Donald Trump’s endorsement, which her supporters believe will propel her through the primary. The president will stump for her as Buttigieg hopes to boost energy for the Democratic ticket, a contrast that puts the former transportation secretary in the spotlight.
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Buttigieg has been gunning for the nation’s highest office for the better part of the past decade, seeing early progress in the crowded 2020 Democratic primary. While getting thoroughly routed, he’s remained a favorite within some Democratic circles as a possible future president.
Unlike other Democrats viewed as 2028 frontrunners, Buttigieg hasn’t been as subtle in his designs. Earlier this month, he told The Diary of a CEO that he was “more inclined than not” to run for president in 2028.
His trip to South Carolina, whether ultimately successful in rallying enough support for Democrat Annie Andrews’s long-shot effort to flip the Senate seat or not, can help sow the seeds of victory for his potential 2028 bid. In particular, it gives him a chance to win over the state’s influential bloc of black voters, who often serve as kingmakers because South Carolina begins the Democratic presidential primary process.
“He’s going to do better with Black voters,” former Democratic South Carolina state Rep. Bakari Sellers told Politico Playbook. “He’s just a freak political athlete. But can he ever win the big one?”
During this weekend’s trip, Buttigieg will be stumping for Retired Navy Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, who is running for a House seat Democrats hope to flip, speaking at an NAACP event, and the state party’s issues conference.
Buttigieg has been shoring up his black support through an effective political tour of swing states, trying to win over the key demographic he has struggled most with in the past. Sellers claimed he has made real headway.
“I think his experience, his White House experience, has definitely helped him in that regard,” he said.
Buttigieg received particularly good news this week when an Emerson College survey gave him his best chances yet at the top office. In polls facing the two Republican front-runners, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he won 49% of the vote, to their 44%, in both polls.
On the Republican side, meanwhile, Trump is leading the procession of heavy hitters to secure Graham Nordone’s chances. Many Republicans are confident that she can pull through despite her gaffe, with Trump’s help. Trump will speak in her support at a Friday rally in Myrtle Beach, alongside Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC), John Barrasso (R-WY), Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), and more.
Republican insiders told Politico they were confident her Wednesday appearance on Fox News’s Hannity allowed her to recover, spinning her slip-up as a relatable moment.
DARLINE GRAHAM NORDONE ATTEMPTS TO QUELL BACKLASH OVER TAIWAN QUESTION: ‘I DON’T SPEAK POLITICIAN’
“I tripped up one question,” she said. “I’ve said many times, I’m not a politician… I don’t speak politician. I was just honest, and I think that’s kind of a foreign concept.”
While Trump’s endorsement has repeatedly proven decisive throughout, his early endorsement of Nordone was less decisive than usual, failing to bring her over the threshold in the Republican special primary, and that was before her debate gaffe.
