‘We need to redeem the dream.’ Hints of the ‘28 campaign come to ‘26 SC King Day
Even though nearly 290 days remain until the 2026 midterm elections, the specter of the 2028 presidential campaign was evident at the annual King Day at the Dome event.
Potential 2028 presidential candidates U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna were among the speakers at the annual church service and march hosted by the South Carolina NAACP State Conference.
Before taking to the stage, federal elected officials with national profiles told reporters they were focused on 2026 campaigns, despite speaking in the early primary state at an event where a key bloc of Democratic voters celebrate the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. It has become a must-attend event for potential White House hopefuls to speak to a key-Democratic voting bloc in an early primary state.
The annual King Day at the Dome is an event that began in 2000 as a protest against the Confederate flag flying above the State House dome. The Confederate flag has since been removed from the State House grounds, and on this particular King Day, the flag of S.C. State University, a publicly-funded historically Black university, flew over the dome to honor the school’s 2025 HBCU national championship in football.
Booker over the weekend toured South Carolina with five stops to discuss rising health care costs and the need to organize voters in the upcoming election. But he insisted he is focused on his 2026 re-election in New Jersey.
“The destiny of New Jersey is interwoven with the destiny of South Carolina and when we have a national crisis of health care, it is important for me to be here in this state talking about the quarter of a million people almost that are going to lose their health insurance because of the failure to extend the ACA tax credits,” Booker said, sticking to his message from the weekend.
But during his 20 minutes of remarks, with no notes or teleprompter, Booker had tidbits of what could work in a stump speech.
“We need to redeem the dream, because still in this nation, people are going bankrupt because they can’t afford their medical bills. We need to redeem the dream, because in this nation people who need life-saving prescriptions can’t afford them. We need to redeem the dream, because in our nation millions of people work full-time jobs and still find themselves in poverty,” Booker said.
Khanna, who has been a frequent visitor to the Palmetto State in recent years, also deflected questions about 2028. But he sounded ready to pitch himself as a candidate when speaking about the need for technology jobs.
“My focus right now is to get Hakeem Jeffries to be speaker of the House,” Khanna told reporters. “But I believe I have one of the best economic visions for this nation. I believe I understand the economic future, and I have a plan to help every community. Every part of this country can be part of that economic future and I’m going to be going around the country in 2026 to make the case that we need a different direction and a new roadmap for that economic future.”
When speaking to the crowd, Khanna said he believed the country is destined to be a multiracial and multicultural democracy.
“I believe the way we will get there is by bringing economic security and independence to every community and every family across this country to make sure that the A.I. revolution isn’t just working for billionaires, but working for people across the nation. That is how we start to offer an alternative to Donald Trump,” Khanna said to the crowd.
Although the annual King Day at the Dome is a nonpartisan event, it has a Democratic-leaning feel, and 2026 was front and center.
Among those to speak were state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, a Democratic candidate for governor, as well as three Democratic hopefuls for U.S. Senate: Annie Andrews, Brandon Brown and Catherine Fleming Bruce, all of whom are hoping to take on U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in November’s election.
Democratic Party leadership, including former Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and South Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Christale Spain, called on people to register to vote, to show up to the polls, and for more people to run for office in a state where Republicans dominate and hold supermajorities in both chambers of the General Assembly.
“Voting is how to protect our families, voting is how we fund our schools, voting is how we shape our courts, and voting is how we demand accountability. And the reason voting is always targeted is simple, because your vote has power. When the people in power believe that they’re untouchable, they ignore the needs of everyday folks,” Spain said. “It is past time for us to organize, not just to win an argument. Those days are over, but to win power for our communities by sending those in power who no longer want to work for us home.”
