Front-runners are targeting Pete Buttigieg ahead of the December Democratic debate – IndyStar
CONNECTCOMMENTEMAILMORE
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg takes the debate stage tonight in Los Angeles in an enviable position after his campaign returned from polling purgatory to settle within striking distance of the front-runners.
He has a real shot at winning in Iowa and New Hampshire and has finally risen into double digits nationally at 13 percent in the latest survey from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist.
Here’s what that means heading into the Democratic debate, which is scheduled 8-11 p.m. and will air on PBS and CNN. IndyStar will post live updates of Buttigieg’s performance during the debate and takeaways afterward.
1. Warren and Sanders have begun targeting Buttigieg
The front-runners largely have ignored Buttigieg through months of campaigning and in the first five Democratic debates. But Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont have finally begun sparring with him, and the tactic is likely to carry over into the debate.
Warren and Buttigieg have been battling over transparency, though it’s unclear how much the issue has resonated with voters.
Warren released details of income she earned from corporate client work after Buttigieg called on her to release tax returns beyond the 10 years she already had disclosed.
After Warren’s campaign questioned the somewhat murky details of Buttigieg’s past as a consultant, he released the names of several clients he worked with while working for McKinsey and Co. prior to being elected mayor of South Bend. He also began allowing the media into private fundraisers and agreed to release more campaign finance details.
No sooner had that spat ended than Sanders’ campaign jumped in. In an email to supporters this week, Sanders’ team described a Buttigieg fundraiser held in Napa Valley as taking place in a wine cave. Sanders’ campaign asked for small-dollar donations to match the larger contributions Buttigieg was poised to collect at his fundraiser.
It’s noteworthy that Sanders and Warren have been attacking Buttigieg because the Democratic left has grown increasingly frustrated by the mayor’s push to position himself as a moderate. He is a frequent target of liberal Twitter users who have created a #NeverPete hashtag and of progressive organizations, with perhaps the largest concern being his lack of support for Medicare for All.
Despite the pushback, the moderate approach still may be his best path to victory. As the Wall Street Journal noted Tuesday, Buttigieg’s campaign took off when he distanced himself from more liberal ideas.
2. Biden might finally notice Buttigieg exists
As if Buttigieg’s problem with progressive senators wasn’t enough, now former Vice President Joe Biden has grown weary of Buttigieg’s effort to take his spot as the centrist candidate.
President Obama’s former No. 2 has nearly completely ignored Buttigieg through five debates.
But now Biden has accused Buttigieg of stealing his health care proposal.
It’s unclear how much merit that accusation carries. Biden has advocated for reforming health care through the structure of the Affordable Care Act. Buttigieg is the one who rephrased Warren’s and Sanders’ Medicare for All proposal into Medicare for All Who Want It.
Regardless, Biden and Buttigieg have each been using that phrase, and each favors allowing the public to buy into a Medicare option.
3. Then again, attack Buttigieg at your risk
Buttgieg, a Rhodes scholar, seems at home on the debate stage.
That may be why Biden, Sanders and Warren declined to dig into him in November’s debate despite his already rising polling position.
For proof, just recall how things went with Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii at the November debate.
Klobuchar tried to ding Buttgieg on experience, and he pounced.
“Washington experience is not the only experience that matters,” he said. “There is over 100 years of Washington experience on this stage, and where are we right now as a country? I have the experience of bringing people together to get something done.”
Moments later Gabbard went after him, accusing him of saying he would send U.S. troops to Mexico to fight drug cartels.
Buttigieg had an answer for her, too.
“I know that it’s par for the course in Washington to take remarks out of context, but that is outlandish even by today’s standards,” he said.
The New York Times says Buttigieg’s more aggressive approach, in addition to his moderate stances, has resonated.
4. Buttigieg still has work to do with voters of color
It’s not just his well-covered lack of support from African Americans. Polling has shown that Latinos are slow to believe in Buttigieg, too.
The mayor’s base of support throughout the campaign has consistently been with middle age and older, white voters, perfect for Iowa and New Hamsphire but problematic in states with more diverse populations that make up a large chunk of the Democratic electorate.
Buttigieg has struggled to reach out to black and Hispanic voters. Through the first debates, Buttigieg has faced questions about his handling of a white South Bend police officer’s shooting of a black man armed with a knife and of the clumsy rollout in South Carolina of his Douglass Plan to help African Americans.
His support among minorities remains a large impediment to victory and seems likely to come up again Thursday.
There’s reason to believe things are improving. While the national media often cites early polling figures that had Buttigieg at near zero percent with black voters nationally and in South Carolina, the first primary state with a racially diverse electorate, the numbers have been ticking upward.
The national Marist poll, conducted Dec. 9-11 with 1,744 registered voters, showed his nonwhite support at 6%. Not a lot, true, but better than zero.
Buttigieg has now released specific plans to help both blacks and Latinos, the latter released Monday, but again, it’s unclear how much those efforts are resonating.
In a 30-second commercial released this week, Buttigieg, speaking Spanish, describes how he would unify the country once President Donald Trump leaves office.
That plan to help Latinos, largely through promoting education, health care, housing and business opportunity, drew the attention of Trump’s campaign. During the rollout of the platform, Buttigieg accused the president of fueling prejudice against Latinos.
Newsweek reported that a Trump campaign spokesperson subsequently shot back that “failed, part-time Mayor Pete has no clue what it takes to lead and help any communities flourish.”
Call IndyStar reporter Chris Sikich at (317) 444-6036. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisSikich.
CONNECTCOMMENTEMAILMORE
Read or Share this story: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/12/19/december-democratic-debate-front-runners-target-buttigieg/2677646001/