Ro Khanna plans South Carolina visit for "benefits over billionaires" tour

• For Khanna, who co-chaired Sen. Bernie Sanders 2020 presidential campaign, it's also an opportunity "to test out this fresh economic vision with Black voters," he told Axios.
• "Black voters are the base of our party," he said.
• Khanna will also use the trip to troll Republicans and talk directly to some of their voters, including those who rely on Medicaid.

Driving the news: Khanna will participate alongside Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) in town hall meetings in the districts of Republicans Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and William Timmons (R-S.C.).

• Khanna has held previous town halls in GOP districts in California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Zoom in: Timmons' district is more solidly Republican, but Democrats are eyeing Mace's seat.

• "The Mace one is a winnable district, light red," Khanna said. "That's exactly the type of district which we could win if we put in the effort, but it's not a give-me."

Zoom out: Democratic lawmakers are starting to make trips to early primary and caucus states, raising speculation that they are testing the waters for a potential 2028 run.

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) hit New Hampshire on Friday.
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) visited GOP territory in South Carolina earlier this week.
• Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) will visit Iowa in August, with former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel planning to hit an Iowa fish fry in September.
• Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg held a town hall in Iowa that focused on veterans.

The intrigue: The Democratic National Committee hasn't finalized which states it wants to hold early primaries and caucuses in the 2028 election, but there's a strong push to restore Iowa and New Hampshire to their traditional gatekeeper roles.