Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) praised President Joe Biden’s loyalty to South Carolina as the president is once again harvesting the state’s political prowess in the first nominating contest for the Democratic Party. 

“He’s in the White House. He is president of the United States because of South Carolina, and he did something rare in my lifetime. He showed an expression of loyalty by saying this should be the first primary, first in the nation primary, to kick things off,” Newsom told ABC News’s Jonathan Karl in an interview set to air Sunday. 

Last year, the Democratic National Committee put South Carolina first on the party’s presidential nominating calendar, disturbing decades of tradition with Iowa and New Hampshire as early-voting states. 

Under the DNC’s schedule, the New Hampshire Democratic primary would’ve been held on Feb. 6, three days after South Carolina’s on Feb. 3. But New Hampshire Democrats rejected the DNC’s plan, citing state law that requires the state’s primaries be held at least seven days before any other state. As a result, Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign decided not to file for candidacy in the state. The Democratic primary was held on Jan. 23, the same day as Republicans.

Biden still won New Hampshire as a Democratic write-in with 53% of the vote, surpassing his closest long-shot challenger, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who won 19%. Former President Donald Trump beat former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley by 11%. 

Like California, South Carolina has an open primary, allowing voters to participate in either the Republican or Democratic primaries. In pressing Newsom over the potential to get Democrats to vote for Haley in her home state as an effort to stop Trump, the California governor said they shouldn’t get involved in crossing over into the GOP contest.

“I think you get exposed when you try to game a system,” Newsom said. “I play by the existing rules — And to the extent that that opens itself up under the current playbook — fine.”

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“But at the end of the day, no, you don’t take voters for granted. That’s why I’m here. Joe Biden’s not taking voters for granted,” Newsom added. 

Biden’s victory in South Carolina catapulted him to the White House in 2020, with a nearly 30-point win in the first-in-the-South primary. His success was attributed to a base of black voters, with 61% backing Biden. Rep. Jim Clyburn’s (D-SC) endorsement buoyed Biden in the state; Clyburn was the highest-ranking black Democrat in Congress before Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) became House Minority Leader last year.