Diversity complaints create last-minute distraction for Buttigieg before Iowa

OTTUMWA, Iowa — After a day campaigning in Iowa where potential caucusgoers quizzed him on his inability to connect with minority voters, Pete Buttigieg was forced to respond on Tuesday to twin news stories on how his team has failed to create an inclusive work environment where its nonwhite staff members feel valued and heard.

“We’ve taken steps that may not be something that is typical or has happened a lot before in presidential campaigns to try to empower staffers at all levels to be able to speak to their experiences to raise concerns and to have these tough conversations, and they are tough in every organization and in our country,” he told reporters after a town hall in Ottumwa, Iowa.