Mayor Pete Buttigieg has been spending almost 50% of his time away from South Bend, Ind., since February after he announced his exploratory committee for president in January.
The South Bend Tribune did an analysis based on the mayor’s calendar and online notices showing Buttigieg has spent or plans to spend 55 days from Feb. 1 through May 31 away from South Bend.
Buttigieg’s weekday travels included 39 of 86 days over the same period, also equaling 45% of his time.
On Jan. 23, Buttigieg announced his exploratory committee for president, and he formally announced his presidential campaign on April 14. The mayor used some of his time on the road promoting his book Shortest Way Home released in early February.
His campaign responded to the Tribune’s report saying the mayor was able to keep up with things in South Bend even while being on the road a lot.
“When he’s on the road, he’s patched into meetings, he’s in constant contact with his office,” Chris Meagher, Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign spokesman, said.
Buttigieg is polling at 7% according to the RealClearPolitics’ polling average as one of 24 declared candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
