The first presidential primary votes won't be cast for another two and a half years. And yet, over the span of 10 days in July, three Democratic presidential prospects are scheduled to campaign in South Carolina.
Nearly a half dozen others have made recent pilgrimages to South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa - states that traditionally host the nation's opening presidential nomination contests. Still other ambitious Democrats are having private conversations with officials on the ground there.
The voters in these states are used to seeing presidential contenders months or even years before most of the country, but the political jockeying in 2025 for the 2028 presidential contest appears to be playing out earlier, with more frequency and with less pretense than ever before.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was referred to as a presidential candidate at one stop in his two-day South Carolina tour last week. Voters shouted "2028!" after he insisted he was there simply to strengthen the party ahead of the 2026 midterms. South Carolina has virtually no competitive midterm contests.
Term-limited Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear , who acknowledges he's considering a 2028 bid, will spend two days touring South Carolina this week. He will focus on the state's Black community while drawing an implicit contrast with Newsom on cultural issues, according to excerpts of his planned remarks obtained by The Associated Press.