by WILL FOLKS
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Veteran Democrat power player Rahm Emanuel is visiting early-voting South Carolina this week as he mulls a bid for his party’s presidential nomination in 2028.
The 66-year-old Chicagoan – who has served in a host of influential positions during his three-and-a-half decades in public life – made multiple stops in the Palmetto Upstate on Wednesday (October 14, 2026).
Included on his itinerary? A trip to Mountainview Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., where he met with a group of several local faith leaders.
“My faith has guided me throughout my life, and it teaches that we’re called to show up for one another,” Emanuel noted in recapping his visit to Mountainview. “That’s exactly what I saw in that room today. When we have honest conversations about the problems we face and work on them together, we can start restoring our shared faith in America.”
On Thursday (October 15, 2026), Emanuel will travel to Claflin University in Orangeburg, S.C. for a “fireside chat” with state representative Jermaine Johnson, the Democrat nominee for governor of South Carolina, and Sylvia Wright, the party’s nominee for superintendent of education.
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“Orangeburg knows what it means to be left behind by Columbia, and Claflin students know what it means to fight for their future anyway,” Johnson said of the upcoming gathering. “This campaign is about building a new South Carolina where every child gets a great public school and every family gets a fair shot. I’m proud to stand with Sylvia Wright, and grateful to Rahm for coming to listen.”
Thursday’s gathering at Claflin will be held at Ministers Hall and is scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. EDT.
Emanuel has not said whether he will seek the White House in 2028 – but has indicated he will make a decision on a prospective candidacy at some point following the 2026 midterm elections.
“At the end of the day, you’ve got to basically have a take on what I think is ailing America, and then you have not only the answers but the strength, and you’ve got to have the honesty,” he told his local CBS affiliate last week. “For twelve years, we’ve had two presidents, both parties, who are trying to restore a past that is not coming back. This election is about a future.”
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Emanuel has been an adept messenger so far, zeroing in on the widespread unpopularity of president Donald Trump as he attempts to equate the struggles of everyday Americans with the current administration’s profligacy.
“You’ve got to drive the corruption and the greed into people’s own wallet,” Emanuel told The New York Times in critiquing Democrat electoral messaging. “It’s not just that he’s getting rich. You’re getting poor.”
Emanuel served as a key White House aide to former president Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1998. From 2003 to 2009 he represented Illinois’ fifth congressional district – a heavily gerrymandered parcel which includes broad swaths of central and northwest Chicago. During his time in congress, he was chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).
Emanuel served for two years as chief of staff to president Barack Obama during his first term, resigning that post to run for mayor of Chicago – a job he held from 2011-2019. Most recently, he was president Joe Biden‘s ambassador to Japan.
Were he to run for president, Emanuel would be a long shot to win his party’s nomination. Early top-tier prospective candidates include congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, California governor Gavin Newsom, U.S. senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, former vice president Kamala Harris, Pennsylvania governer Josh Shapiro, former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, among others.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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