South Carolina Democratic Party
A Meet and Greet Visit in Laurens with
California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Laurens, SC (July 9, 2025):
The Laurens County Democratic Party would like to INVITE you to a SPECIAL Meet and Greet with Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom at St. Paul First Baptist Church of Laurens on July 9th, 2025 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm. St. Paul First Baptist Church is located at 216 E. Hampton Ave, Laurens, SC 29360.
South Carolina Democrats are serious about organizing across South Carolina. Our formula to winning is simple - County by County: The Path to Power.
This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom will spend two days connecting with rural South Carolinians and he will be stopping in our county!
As Governor of the nation’s most populous state, Newsom has delivered real results for working families in rural communities — launching the largest state tax refund in American history, raising the minimum wage, expanding paid family leave, and making two years of community college tuition-free, including career and technical education. He has also established a year of free pre-school for every child (universal transitional kindergarten), provided every public school student with two free meals a day, and expanded access to health care to more low-income residents than ever before. His record shows what’s possible when leaders invest in working families.
South Carolina’s rural counties face critical issues like jobs, infrastructure, schools, rural hospitals, and recovery challenges from hurricanes to wildfires. Come visit with Governor Newsom to discuss how to meet the moment!
TO RSVP. https://www.mobilize.us/scdp/event/809678/
Link here.
We hope to see you on July 9th at St. Paul First Baptist Church from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
THE PUSHBACK
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Newsom Visits SC to 'Connect' —
He Might Want to Reconnect with His Own State First
(Columbia, S.C.) – California Governor Gavin Newsom is coming to South Carolina this week on what he calls an effort to “connect with rural communities.” But South Carolinians know better. South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick released the following statement:
"Apparently California Governor Gavin Newsom is looking for some new voters to fool as he plans to run for President in 2028. Or maybe he’s looking for voters who left California due to high taxes, government over-regulation and woke insanity.
Newsom and the liberal Democrats have made California so unbearable for normal Americans that it leads U-Haul's annual client survey as the state with the single greatest number of one-way OUTBOUND trips. Meanwhile, the same U-Haul report shows South Carolina as the state with the greatest number of one-way INBOUND trips.
Gavin Newsom should go sell Crazy California somewhere else. He won't find many takers here."
The facts speak for themselves. Americans are voting with their feet — and they’re choosing freedom over failure. While Newsom uses this tour as political theater, Republican leadership is delivering real results: empowering families, growing small businesses, and protecting the values that make the Palmetto State strong.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION NOTICE: While Governor Newsom Speaks in South Carolina, Rural California Is Still Waiting for Help
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California lawmakers raise concern as core services in rural communities face delays, cuts, and inaction under Governor Newsom’s leadership.
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The Assembly Republican Caucus
SACRAMENTO — This week, Governor Gavin Newsom is touring several South Carolina counties to speak about public investment, infrastructure, and economic recovery. As he promotes his record in rural America, the California State Assembly Republican Caucus is issuing this public notice to provide background on how rural communities in California — the state he was elected to govern — continue to be left behind.
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“While Governor Newsom speaks about forgotten communities in other states, he’s ignored the ones in his own backyard,” said Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher. “He’s bankrupting Medi-Cal while rural Californians get pushed to the back of the line. They’re losing doctors, losing access, and losing faith in a system that’s supposed to serve them. He’s not fixing anything — he’s abandoning them.”
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This notice is provided as a courtesy, in case the Governor forgets to mention how things are going back home.
Medi-Cal Is Collapsing in Rural California:
· In March 2025, Medi-Cal ran out of funding, requiring a $6.2 billion emergency bailout.
· The Newsom administration missed a federal deadline to update Medi-Cal provider payments, losing millions meant for doctors and triggering care access problems statewide — especially in rural counties.
· Despite allocating over $12 billion for expanded coverage to non-citizens, many rural Californians are being dropped by providers and forced to wait months for basic care.
Cuts to Rural Safety and Infrastructure:
· The 2025–26 budget slashed wildfire prevention funding to $200 million, down from over $1 billion in recent years — even as fire-prone communities remain at high risk.
· Local fire agencies report fewer grants and reduced support for vegetation management and fuel breaks.
A Bullet Train That’s Bulldozing Rural California:
· Governor Newsom continues to pour billions into the state’s stalled High-Speed Rail project — a system with no completion date and no realistic chance of operation in the near future.
· Prime farmland in the Central Valley is being ripped up to build train segments with no ridership, no connections, and no functional plan — while real infrastructure needs go unfunded.
Rural Economies Under Pressure:
· Over 80,000 jobs were lost in 2024, with nearly 200,000 private-sector jobs gone since 2023.
· Sectors like agriculture, trucking, and independent construction — pillars of rural California — are being hit hardest by regulations, water uncertainty, and rising costs.
A Budget on the Brink:
· California’s budget problems haven’t gone away, they’ve just been pushed past Gavin Newsom’s term in office.
· The California Department of Finance projects operating deficits of $17.2 billion in 2026–27, $24.2 billion in 2027–28, and $17.4 billion in 2028–29.
· Newsom is relying on short-term patches, while long-term obligations — especially Medi-Cal — keep growing faster than the state can afford.
· When Newsom moves on, Californians will still be paying the price for the budget choices he made.
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The Assembly Republican Caucus will keep speaking up for the California communities left behind by a governor too busy auditioning for another job to do the one he has.
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