In reiterating his neutrality in the South Carolina presidential primary Feb. 29, the man who is easily the Palmetto State’s most revered Democrat also revealed to Newsmax Tuesday he is beginning to feel “high on Amy Klobuchar.”
In an exclusive interview, former Democratic National Chairman Don Fowler said he feels very positive toward Sen. Klobuchar because “she’s smart as hell and has a personality that is very pleasing.”
“And she’s done very well in the debates,” added Fowler, who with wife Caroline has hosted a series of receptions for nearly all of the leading Democrat hopefuls.
At 84, Fowler is one of the two oldest living former Democratic National Chairmen. He shared his insight with Newsmax just as a Change Research poll shows Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden tied at 23 percent each among likely South Carolina primary voters.
The same poll shows multimillionaire Tom Steyer in third at 20 percent, followed by former South Bend , Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg at 15 percent. All other candidates trail far behind in single digits.
Fowler, who ran the DNC under President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1997, also is a longtime friend of Biden's. In a state where the former vice president was long considered a heavy favorite, he is now in a highly competitive situation, Fowler believes, “because he ran so far behind in Iowa and New Hampshire.”
“If Joe had run better in either state — even made third place — he’d be doing a lot better here today, but he sure lost a lot of strength as a result.”
Where other Democratic operatives are in awe of Mike Bloomberg and his vast personal wealth, Fowler doesn’t think the former New York mayor will fare well in South Carolina.
“Nobody in South Carolina knows him,” said Fowler, “He has no presence here.”
If there's any candidate Fowler has a distaste for, it is clearly Sanders. The former DNC chairman has long believed that Sanders’ people were poor sports during the national convention that nominated Hillary Clinton and that their inaction may have contributed to her defeat by Donald Trump.
“Sanders is a front-runner here, but it’s not to my liking,” Fowler said. “But I will support him if he’s the Democratic nominee for no other reason that he is the Democratic nominee and we need to defeat Trump.”
“I will probably endorse someone,” he said, “but it will be after the South Carolina primary.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.