POLITICO Playbook Podcast: The Clyburn Test and the Race for His 2028 Endorsement

POLITICO's Playbook Podcast used its Friday episode, "The Clyburn test," to cover Rep. Jim Clyburn's criteria for a 2028 endorsement, a new draft-Ro Khanna committee, and scrutiny of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after Republican midterm losses.

Nov 06, 2026 - 17:16

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POLITICO's Playbook Podcast used its Friday episode to examine the early race for Rep. Jim Clyburn's 2028 endorsement. The episode, titled "The Clyburn test," was released at 5 a.m. Eastern on Friday, Nov. 6, and runs about 26 minutes, according to Apple Podcasts and POLITICO's Megaphone feed. Host Megan Messerly was joined by Playbook co-authors Adam Wren and Will Steakin. That morning's POLITICO Playbook newsletter said Messerly was "joined by Adam and Will" to discuss Clyburn's endorsement criteria, a draft-Ro Khanna movement and Pete Hegseth scrutiny. The episode description says the race for Clyburn's "coveted 2028 endorsement is already heating up" and that he tells Dasha Burns in an exclusive interview who he has spoken to and what it will take to win his support. Audio is at Megaphone; a POLITICO video page is dated 11/06/2026 05:45 AM EST.

Clyburn's calls and endorsement criteria

The companion Playbook newsletter, published at 6:27 a.m. EST on Nov. 6 under the headline "Clyburn's digits are out for 2028" by Dasha Burns, Adam Wren and Will Steakin, reported that Clyburn said in an exclusive interview with Playbook for "The Conversation" that he fielded four phone calls the day after the election. Among them was Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Clyburn said he has recently been in touch with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, and noted spending time on the campaign trail with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock. On the podcast, Messerly said Beshear, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Moore were not among the most recent calls Clyburn named to Burns.

Playbook reported that Clyburn, whose endorsement helped rescue Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign, is already describing what it will take to win him over. "You've got to demonstrate the ability to manage," Clyburn said, according to the newsletter, which wrote that the comment suggested governors may hold an early advantage. That does not necessarily rule out lawmakers, "but the senator's got to demonstrate the ability to manage things," he added. "Don't get carried away with sound bites and how many followers you got on the internet," Clyburn said. He expects a crowded field and name-checked Newsom and Khanna; a name he did not mention was Pete Buttigieg. Asked whether Buttigieg could perform better in South Carolina than in 2020, Clyburn replied in the affirmative and added, "How much better remains to be seen," according to Playbook. He has spoken with Kamala Harris several times in recent weeks but said they have not discussed another presidential bid. "I'm not going to tell her what to do. I'm not going to tell anybody what to do," Clyburn said. "I'm going to talk to anybody who wants to talk to me about their plans, and I'll tell them what I think."

South Carolina and the Electoral College map

Messerly noted that South Carolina is first on the Democratic presidential primary calendar and that Clyburn had just won his 18th term. In a Conversation clip on the episode, Burns asked whether Democrats should treat South Carolina as a general-election target after Annie Andrews' win. "Absolutely. Absolutely," Clyburn said. Playbook quoted him saying Tuesday's results should force Democrats to rethink strategy. "South Carolina is number one," Clyburn said. "The Rust Belt is losing Electoral College votes. The South, gaining Electoral College votes. We would be foolish not to pay attention to that." Asked whether Democrats should run away from Biden's legacy, he said, "Absolutely not, because his legacy, like Harry Truman's, will not be appreciated until some fair-minded people start writing the history," and added, "Joe Biden lost nothing on substance. He lost it all on style," according to Playbook. On the podcast, Wren said Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey had announced multiple South Carolina visits and played audio of Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico saying Texas is "on the 2028 presidential map now."

Draft Ro Khanna

Messerly said former Rep. Jamal Bowman and progressive activist Nomiki Konst are launching a committee urging Rep. Ro Khanna to run. Playbook reported "FIRST IN PLAYBOOK" that the newly launched "Run Ro" draft committee has brought on Keegan Goudiss, who served as director of digital advertising for Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign. "I was early on Bernie 2016. I joined in 2015, and there's a real energy there," Konst told Playbook. "We have folks who launched Bernie 2016 and stayed with Bernie for years." She said the group's role is "to just keep highlighting what a badass he is," adding, "We're like a Dark Ro." On the podcast, Wren said Playbook earlier reported that Ron Klain, Biden's former White House chief of staff, is advising Khanna. Steakin said some on the left are debating whether to wait on a possible bid by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Hegseth scrutiny after the midterms

Messerly said Rep. Thomas Massie said this week that he plans to call for a vote to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth but would halt those plans if Hegseth resigned, then played audio of a Hegseth video released the prior afternoon. In the clip, Hegseth called the effort "sham articles of impeachment" and said, "Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me." Messerly said that when President Donald Trump was asked about Hegseth in the Oval Office, Trump said, "Pete Hegseth has done a fantastic job," Steakin said sources after the midterms leaned on the Iran war as an explanation for Republican losses and that Hegseth could fit as a scapegoat in that narrative. Messerly closed by pointing listeners to politico.com/playbook, saying the show would return Monday.