CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — While Democratic senators running for president silently sat through a debate about rules in President Trump’s impeachment trial, Pete Buttigieg pitched himself to about 150 Democratic voters.
The dichotomy reflects the free pass former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Buttigieg is getting in building his profile while Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Bernie Sanders of Iowa, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts remain stuck in Washington. The same is true for former Vice President Joe Biden, who is free of official duties and can camp out in Iowa until the Feb. 3 caucuses.
Buttigieg’s Iowa push is part of an explicit strategy to take advantage of his rivals’ time off the trail. Already, Sanders has had to cancel a private jet that was ready to head to the state on Wednesday since he must sit through the entirety of the impeachment trial — no matter how long it takes.
The clearer Iowa playing field comes as Buttigieg, 38, needs to boost his support there. A RealClearPolitics average of recent polls has Buttigieg trailing in fourth place at 16.3% support, just under 5 points behind Biden. Those numbers are below his peak of 26% support back in November, which temporarily landed him in first place.
“This is the first candidate I’ve seen,” said Sheryl Peterson, 67. “Seeing him in person certainly affected how I feel about him. Coming in undecided, it wasn’t so much not knowing who I wanted, but knowing who I didn’t want. So I need to hear from the rest of the pack, and Pete really impressed me today.”
In his speeches throughout the day, Buttigieg lamented a dysfunctional Washington and told potential supporters that an outsider could help restore unity.
“I’m proposing a nominee who would have a unique ability,” to beat Trump, Buttigieg said Tuesday afternoon in Mount Pleasant as news broke that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was blocking Senate Democrats’ pretrial evidence demands. “Remember: This is a president that likes to talk about the forgotten men and women in the industrial Midwest, right? How about we actually nominate somebody who’s actually from a community in the industrial Midwest, someone who doesn’t just look at them out the window of an airplane.”
Buttigieg added that he wanted voters in the state “to turn the page on a Washington that seems to compute every idea in terms of whether it moves some ideological needle or who’s up or down, or who looked good in a committee hearing or in a cable appearance, and bring it back down to real life.”
In the few mentions of impeachment during his three stops in the state, Buttigieg said he understood how so many Democrats felt “exhausted” because of the process and told attendees that the 2020 election “isn’t about ideological battles,” like the one raging in the Senate.
A record number of Iowans have yet to decide for whom they will ultimately caucus, and those who are still hearing from all the candidates say that stops in smaller communities, as Buttigieg has been doing, are sending the message that he’s not just going through the motions.
“Absolutely. Being here will make a difference for him. He’s polling the best here because people are starting to know him. Pete is working at it,” said Sandy Potter, 66, in Muscatine, Iowa. “He’s not just going to the Quad Cities. He’s not just going to Des Moines. He’s going to all of these communities. Making himself present helps with a name, and you get a chance to know him.”
Buttigieg ended the night in Cedar Rapids, the second-largest city in the state at over 126,000 people. Iowa Democrats who wanted a change of pace from the impeachment hearing, still airing at 7 p.m, turned out in record numbers to see him speak. According to a city police officer, roughly 1,200 people showed up to the Buttigieg rally — the largest campaign event the city has seen this cycle. The two closest seconds, hosted by Warren and Sanders, each brought in 350 attendees.
“I think I’m a supporter of Pete. I had it between him and Amy Klobuchar, and I’m leaning towards Pete just because Amy is trailing so bad, and now, she’s caught up with this impeachment stuff,” said Dean Craig, 59. “Most definitely, this stuff all hurts the rest of the field. He has an advantage. I didn’t want it to be this way, but that’s the reality.”
