Rep. Jim Clyburn is credited with rescuing Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. Now that he has seemingly picked his next favorite in California Gov. Gavin Newsom, it’s an open question whether he will be able to play kingmaker once again.
Clyburn heaped praise on Newsom at a South Carolina event this week, saying he feels “good about his chances” as a presidential candidate in 2028. That’s not quite an endorsement — and Newsom hasn’t officially declared he’s running for president — but it is an indication that Clyburn isn’t shying away from putting his thumb on the scale.
But it’s not at all clear that the party is looking toward Clyburn in the same way it did in the run-up to the 2020 election. Biden’s reelection campaign had a historic unravelling, even as the veteran Black leader stood by his side. More recently, Clyburn’s pick for New York City mayor, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, lost to New York state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani by more than 12%.