Can Democrats who won in Trump states give SC Democrats a recipe for success?
Sitting inside the Regal Lounge, a barber shop and spa in Columbia, Arizona U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego speaks to a group of Democratic elected officials and activists.
The junior senator from the Grand Canyon State spoke about how the party could perform better at the voting booth in the upcoming midterms and beyond.
He was the third high-profile Democrat this year from a state President Donald Trump carried in 2024 to make a visit to South Carolina.
Even if those particular Democrats have White House ambitions, the additional message they bring may be helpful in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide since 2006.
So in an election year with Donald Trump in the White House and the party that controls the White House traditionally seeing losses, Democrats in South Carolina are hoping to gain at the ballot boxes after consecutive cycles of losses.
But how feasible are gains in a state that has been reliably Republican?
The state Democratic Party, aided by the expectation it will have a spot in the early presidential primary window, has brought in three Democrats, who may be eying White House runs in 2028, who have won statewide in states Trump carried. A fourth high-profile visit of a person who lives in a state Trump won is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The visits are more than just meant to be pep rallies for faithful Democrats who haven’t won a statewide election since 2006.
“We’re trying to bring people here to energize Democrats, (and) show them there’s a way forward. We can do this, you know, and how to do it,” said Jay Parmley, the executive director of the state Democratic Party.
Blue state Democrats have also made the trip this year, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, California U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. A visit from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is scheduled for Monday.
But it’s the red state Democrats that may have the immediate practical advice.
“The big message is the same, but the submessage is, this can be done. You can win in tough places,” Parmley said.
Gallego’s visit was on Juneteenth and organized along with the South Carolina Democratic Party as part of a series of stops, which also included events in Greenville, Greenwood and Union.
Gallego told reporters he believes South Carolina is similar to what was happening in Arizona years ago, when people thought that state was reliably Republican but has since become a swing state.
“What we needed is for people to actually believe in Arizona, willing to put in the investment, the time, and especially with the election year coming up this year, and how many South Carolinians are looking for new leadership, because they’re hurting right now,” Gallego said. “This is a great time for the South Carolina Democratic Party to strike, run some good people, and really turn these campaigns around.”
Gallego, who was elected to the Senate in 2024 when Trump carried Arizona, said the party needs to also focus on gaining votes among men.
“A lot of times, for some reason, we feel that if we talk about the importance of men, and men in society, that somehow we’re diminishing the status of women, which I don’t think that’s the case at all,” Gallego said. “Black women, Latino women want good adjusted sons, want good adjusted husbands.”
Gallego, who won in a state where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 300,000 voters, said he likes talking to Democrats in red states.
“In order for us to really change the country, we have to win in places outside of the blue states. We’re not going to change this country if we allow South Carolina to always be ruby red,” Gallego said. “Imagine what we have done if we had given up on Georgia years ago, right. And so I truly believe that in order for us to really win nationally, we have to ... run nationally.”
Gallego’s fellow Arizona U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly visited the state this year during the redistricting fight, which ultimately failed.
Kelly, who also made an appearance in Mullins during the trip, called for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and spoke about how Arizona has a five-person commission that draws congressional districts. It’s composed of two Democrats, two Republicans and an independent chairperson.
“If the whole country was like that. If we could pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and have independent commissions draw these districts, I think we would have a much stronger democracy, and we would also be able to get more stuff done,” Kelly told reporters. “When you don’t have competition, it’s just polarizing in nature.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who visited the state last year, was the keynote speaker at the Blue Palmetto Dinner and a featured speaker at Jim Clyburn’s fish fry. That weekend he also made stops in Sumter, Hopkins and Gaston.
Beshear is governor of a southern state that Trump in 2024 won by 30 percentage points, but Beshear was reelected in 2023 with 52.5% of the vote.
For the last year Beshear has been sharing his stances on how Democrats should deliver their message to voters. Beshear spoke about the importance of getting away from advocacy speak, a message he’s been echoing for about a year.
“We need our language to reflect what we feel in our bones, that we are trying every single day to make life a little bit better for people,” Beshear said at the Blue Palmetto dinner. “We’ve let advocacy speak into our Democratic language and these new terms that make us sound condescending — like we’re talking down to people.”
During his remarks, Beshear touts how he pushed back against anti-LGBTQ legislation, declared Juneteenth a state holiday, and signed an executive order to prohibit discrimination against how state workers wear their hair to make sure Black Kentuckians are protected in the workplace.
“I did those things even though I knew some people might disagree with me. But I showed them the respect of telling them why I was taking those actions. And because I have enough respect for them to tell them why, they give me the benefit of the doubt,” Beshear said.
“I know this is the path back for the Democratic Party: Focus, talk normal and lead with our why,” Beshear added, who later in the evening gave Clyburn Kentucky’s highest civilian honor: making him a Kentucky colonel.
Despite South Carolina not electing a Democratic candidate statewide in almost 20 years, only holding one of the state’s seven congressional seats, and being a superminority in the state General Assembly, the party has fielded candidates for every statewide election, congressional seat and state House seat in this year’s election as party members appear energized for the midterm elections.
“South Carolina is pregnant with possibility,” Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said.
This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Can Democrats who won in Trump states give SC Democrats a recipe for success?."
