A Democratic strategist predicted South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg could end up being the surprise front-runner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Michael Gordon, a staffer in the Clinton administration who now serves as the chief executive of public relations firm Group Gordon, maintained that Buttigieg’s well-received performance in Tuesday’s primary debate sets him apart in the winnowing field of Democratic presidential candidates.
“You could picture him more going toe-to-toe with Trump,” Gordon said in an interview with Newsweek. “He has a real moral authority in the way he talks, so he’s someone … who could surprise in, like, Iowa.”
Buttigieg seized third place in the latest Emerson poll of Democratic Iowa voters released Thursday, polling at 16% behind Biden and Warren.
Conceding that former Vice President Joe Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren are at the head of the pack for now, Gordon said that “a Buttigieg or someone else could surprise.”
“It’s hard to picture a Buttigieg or someone getting into that front-runner status before the voting begins,” Gordon said. “But we should keep our eyes on the polls and see if anything like that changes.”
Buttigieg received rave reviews for his performance in Tuesday’s Democratic primary debate, with one top Democratic donor saying, “He really did stand out in this debate,” for which reason he “presents a challenge to Biden.” With more than $23 million on hand, the Buttigieg campaign is also replete with cash, dwarfing the comparatively paltry $9 million of the Biden campaign.
