Carville advises Dems cater to one key demographic for 2028 nominee, but warns 'they're not that liberal'
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville advised Democrats on Sunday that they need to pay attention to what Black southerners want when picking a nominee for 2028, warning they are not a very socially liberal demographic.
Political strategist Mark McKinnon spoke to Carville on the most recent episode of the "Politics War Room" podcast, noting the 2028 Democratic presidential primary will begin in South Carolina. When he asked Carville what impact that might have, the Democratic strategist offered one key piece of advice for the party.
"The key, single most important voting demographic in selecting a Democratic nominee is, was, and should continue to be southern Blacks," Carville said. "There's no more loyal constituency in the party. And by the way, just so people understand this, they're not that liberal, OK?"
"And what they want and what we're going to find out, and there's an expression, is, ‘I don't want someone that's talk the talk. I want somebody that's walk the walk.’ And when you go to South Carolina and make a pitch — advice from James Carville — talk about things you've done," Carville continued.
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He then parodied recent Democratic Party rhetoric, saying, "Don't say, ‘I am a great friend of people of color.’ That's the stupidest f---ing expression I ever heard."
He advised that if a politician can actually show they have provided opportunities for Black Americans, then they will have actual credibility. Meanwhile, ideologically far-left intellectuals, he warned, would steer the party in an unwise direction, warning, "But don't ever take power of nomination away from southern Blacks. 'Cause if you give it to overly educated people, overly educated people f--- everything up."
"As long as that's there," he said of Black southerners being the core guidance of the Democrats’ 2028 nominee pick, "we're going to have a pretty good nomination."
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Democrat Dan Turrentine, co-host of "The Huddle," concurred in a statement to Fox News Digital about Carville’s comments.
"James is right. The average Black voter, like most Americans, is not crazy liberal," he said. "They are most interested in what you will do to solve today’s problems versus wasting time fantasizing about tomorrow’s revolution. That said, it’s likely the winning candidate will not view this as an ‘either/or’ choice, but find a way to appeal to ‘both’ constituencies."