Buttigieg highlights outsider status in effort to surge past Democratic
rivals
Send a link to a friend
[January 18, 2020]
By Michael Martina
ALGONA, Iowa (Reuters) - Democratic
presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is touting his centrist political
outsider status in a final push to win over Iowa swing voters, an urgent
task as he seeks to pull ahead of rivals in a tight race for the first
state nominating contest.
In a rush of campaign events around Iowa this week ahead of its Feb. 3
caucuses, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, positioned himself as
a refreshing alternative to other candidates with long records in
Washington such as former Vice President and longtime U.S. Senator Joe
Biden.
“When folks ask me why is a mayor running for president whose city isn’t
even one of the biggest cities in the country, my answer is always:
That’s the point. We need more voices like that in Washington right
now,” Buttigieg said on Wednesday to loud applause from a crowd of more
than 700 people in Cedar Falls.
Peeling away votes from fellow moderate Biden is critical for Buttigieg,
who needs a strong showing in Iowa to overcome weaker nationwide
support, particularly with black voters.
Biden, 77, has shown renewed strength in recent Iowa opinion polls,
while Buttigieg has lost much of the edge he enjoyed late last year.
Buttigieg, who turns 38 on Sunday, also has less name recognition than
his other top Democratic rivals, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth
Warren and Amy Klobuchar, who represents Iowa's neighboring state of
Minnesota.
As Buttigieg seeks to pull ahead in the tight race for the nomination to
challenge President Donald Trump in November, his strategy includes
aggressive outreach to swing voters who backed Trump in 2016 after
supporting Democratic President Barack Obama.
The campaign said a new series of digital ads launched on Thursday
focused in part on two-dozen Iowa counties that flipped from voting for
Obama to Trump.
Buttigieg has modified a Trump campaign pitch that political elites have
ignored the struggling industrial Midwest. Buttigieg touts his record as
a two-term mayor from the heartland as evidence he understands its
needs.
At a Mason City rally on Wednesday, Allan Kingery, 56, wore a camouflage
Trump 2020 hat and said he was leaning toward voting a second time for
the president. But Buttigieg, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2014 as
part of the Navy Reserve, had caught his attention.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/011820pics/news_w47.jpg)
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and former South Bend
Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign town hall meeting in
Concord, New Hampshire, U.S., January 17, 2020. REUTERS/Elizabeth
Frantz
![](../images/ads/current/fitzpatrick_lda_SPONSOR_2017.png)
“I liked his views on the United States and patriotism,” said
Kingery, who works at an egg processing plant.
'BIG BET ON IOWA'
A senior Buttigieg campaign official told Reuters this month that
they were looking to show Trump voters a “better way." Buttigieg has
more than 30 campaign offices and about 170 staffers in Iowa.
Winning there would make him more competitive in states where he is
less well-known.
“We’ve placed a big bet on Iowa," the official said. “There is a lot
of enthusiasm for Pete’s candidacy, but at the same time, we’re
going up against big name Washington insiders with lots of
contacts."
Buttigieg is struggling among black voters, an important Democratic
bloc. A national Washington Post-Ipsos poll this month showed him
with just 2% support from Democratic black voters nationally, far
behind Biden's 48% and Sanders' 20%.
Trump's impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate could offer Buttigieg a
chance to get a closer look from Iowa voters while rivals Sanders,
Warren and Klobuchar serve as jurors in Washington. It will also
allow him to draw another contrast with Biden, whose son's business
interests in Ukraine have been scrutinized by Trump and other
Republicans.
Larry Hurto, 68, a Sanders supporter from Newton, Iowa, said
Buttigieg's message resonated with many voters - including him.
Hurto said he would happily vote for Buttigieg if he becomes the
Democratic nominee.
"I have heard so many people saying they are sick and tired of
business as usual," Hurto said. "Caucus-goers might think that
Klobuchar, Biden and the other Washington people are part of the
problem and so are looking for someone like Mayor Pete."
(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and David
Gregorio)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |