Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota will speak at the state political conventions for Democrats in South Carolina and California at the end of this month, his latest effort to place himself in front of voters likely to be central to his party’s 2028 presidential nominating contest.
Mr. Walz, who was his party’s nominee for vice president last year, will deliver speeches at the two state conventions on the same day — May 31 — which his aides portrayed as a feat of political stamina and private air travel between Columbia, S.C., and Anaheim, Calif.
Since March, Mr. Walz has traveled throughout states President Trump won last year to hold town halls and address largely Democratic crowds in Republican congressional districts. Governor Walz spoke to the Democratic convention in Montana, where his daughter lives, and is also scheduled to speak to South Dakota Democrats in July.
South Carolina has for decades been near the front of the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar, and former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. pushed for the state to go first in the 2024 contest. California has by far the largest trove of delegates in the Democratic primary.
Democrats are not expected to set the order of states for their 2028 primaries until next year, but the party’s likely hopefuls have been flocking to states that have long been at the start of the nominating process.
Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois spoke last month in New Hampshire, and Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland is scheduled to speak to South Carolina Democrats the day before Mr. Walz does. Pete Buttigieg, the former transportation secretary and a 2020 presidential hopeful, is set to hold a town hall event Tuesday in Iowa, where Mr. Walz has also held events.
Senator Bernie Sanders, a liberal independent of Vermont, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, have also crisscrossed the country, drawing tens of thousands of people to rallies in red and blue states alike.
Mr. Walz said in February that he was “not ruling out” a 2028 presidential run and has done little since then to bat down the idea that he is preparing for a national campaign. It is expected, but not yet official, that he will seek a third term as governor next year. In recent weeks he has been a frequent presence on cable television and on liberal podcasts denouncing the Trump administration’s actions.
He even appeared on the podcast of the California governor, Gavin Newsom, scolding him after the fellow Democrat hosted far-right Trump allies, like Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, on his show.
“I can’t message to misogynists,” Mr. Walz said.
Mr. Newsom is not expected to appear at the California Democratic Party’s convention.
Reid J. Epstein covers campaigns and elections from Washington. Before joining The Times in 2019, he worked at The Wall Street Journal, Politico, Newsday and The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
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