Pete Buttigieg’s next test: Appeal to minority voters
DES MOINES, Iowa — So far, Pete Buttigieg has made it look easy.
The once little-known former mayor of a midsize Midwestern city vaulted over a former vice president and several U.S. senators in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire presidential primary. The 38-year-old’s fresh face, intellect and turn-the-page message won votes across many demographic groups in the kickoff states.
Now the promise of his candidacy is colliding with the reality of the central question about his viability: Can he win among minority voters who form the critical foundation of the party’s base?
That will be tested Saturday in Nevada, with a diverse blend of Latinos and African Americans, but especially in South Carolina, where two-thirds of the primary electorate could be black voters, the base of the Democratic Party that Buttigieg has struggled to attract.
Buttigieg’s strategy is to earn a fresh look from black and brown voters by flashing his support in the first two contests, drawing on the validation of minority leaders who have endorsed him and leveraging the personal networks of his supporters.
With the South Carolina primary rapidly approaching Feb. 29, he faces a steep climb.
“I’ve not seen any real support coming from black local officials. Pete has to make the case himself,” said state Sen. Gerald Malloy, a longtime supporter of former Vice President Joe Biden’s who has not endorsed a 2020 candidate. “He’s obviously a tireless warrior and making the calls. The question is: Will people answer?”
The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor, who has registered negligible support among black voters nationally, has been to South Carolina 10 times and has been airing ads on black radio stations in South Carolina since last fall, as well as ads in black newspapers.
He has been airing TV ads in the state since December, and this month began a spot reflecting his call for parting with the politics of the past.
In it, Walter A. Clyburn Reed, the grandson of Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the highest-ranking African American in the House, and Abe Jenkins, grandson of civil rights activist Esau Jenkins, pay tribute to their forebears but call Buttigieg “a fresh start.”
It and other ads blanketing YouTube and Facebook reinforce Buttigieg’s heavy outreach to younger black voters, especially on college campuses, such as the historically black institutions South Carolina State University and Claflin University in Orangeburg.