Gavin Newsom’s unrelenting attack dog turns on Pete Buttigieg as the Democratic knife fight starts two years early
An early skirmish in the Democratic Party's 2028 presidential jockeying has broken out after Gavin Newsom's communications director, Izzy Gardon, mocked Pete Buttigieg for visiting South Carolina, sarcastically noting it was his "first time in SC in 3 years". The remark, aimed at the former transportation secretary during a stop with the Orangeburg branch of the NAACP, drew criticism from Democratic strategists who warned that staffers attacking rival potential 2028 candidates so far ahead of the race reflects poorly on their bosses and risks souring relations within the party.
Gardon, credited with turning Newsom's social media operation into an aggressive, Trump-style messaging machine using taunts and rapid-fire attacks, insisted the comment was posted from his personal account and did not represent an official statement from the governor's office. South Carolina holds the first-in-the-South Democratic primary, making Buttigieg's outreach to Black voters there strategically significant, particularly given his 2020 campaign's struggles with that demographic. Both Newsom and Buttigieg are seen as likely 2028 contenders, though current RealClearPolitics polling puts Kamala Harris well ahead at 37.4%, followed by Newsom on 16.4%, Buttigieg on 11.6% and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on 9.4%.
- Newsom aide Izzy Gardon mocked Buttigieg's South Carolina visit online
- Democratic strategists criticised the jab as premature and damaging
- Harris leads early 2028 polling, ahead of Newsom and Buttigieg
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Behind Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, sits a communications team known for aggressive, combative social media messaging. Pete Buttigieg is a former US transportation secretary and 2020 presidential candidate who has struggled in the past to win over Black voters. Both men are widely viewed as likely contenders for the Democratic Party's 2028 presidential nomination, alongside figures such as Kamala Harris and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, even though the actual race is still years away.
South Carolina matters in this context because it traditionally holds the first Democratic primary contest in the southern United States, giving it outsized influence in choosing the party's eventual nominee. Its electorate includes a significant number of Black voters, a group Buttigieg has been working to build stronger support with ahead of any future campaign. Public outreach there, such as visits or events with organisations like the NAACP, is often read by political observers as an early signal of presidential ambitions.
Sparring between staff of potential rivals, rather than the candidates themselves, is a recurring feature of pre-campaign positioning in American politics. Such exchanges can shape early perceptions of candidates and their teams long before any formal campaign begins, and are watched closely by party strategists concerned about internal unity heading into a future election.
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The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates of Newsom's sharper-elbowed approach argue that Democratic politics has for too long rewarded caution and civility even as opponents played by rougher rules, and that a communications team willing to needle rivals shows the kind of fighting spirit many primary voters say they want. They contend that pointing out a genuine gap in Buttigieg's engagement with South Carolina, a state central to Democratic primary politics, is fair scrutiny of a likely rival's record rather than mere name-calling, and that early jabs are a normal part of a long campaign rather than a betrayal of party unity.
The case against
Critics, including party strategists, argue that staffers publicly mocking potential rivals more than two years before any primary is needlessly divisive and reflects poorly on the principals they serve, regardless of disclaimers that a remark came from a personal account. They value party cohesion and worry that normalising internal attacks this early risks alienating voters, donors and fellow Democrats whose cooperation will be needed to beat Republicans in 2028, and that energy spent on intra-party point-scoring would be better directed at substantive outreach and policy contrasts with the opposing party.
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