Washington, D.C., might care about political squabbles, but Middle America doesn’t. Believe it or not, those words were, more or less, uttered during a Democratic presidential primary debate by none other than the Midwest’s favorite mayor, Pete Buttigieg.
He’s right, of course. Take, for example, impeachment: Out of the 304.5 million Americans who have television sets at home, only 13 million tuned in to the first day of televised impeachment hearings last week. And out of those who did watch the proceedings, few changed their minds and even fewer tuned in again for the second day of public testimony. Contrast that with Washington, where the bars stream each one of the hearings and feature impeachment-themed cocktails.
By addressing Middle Americans’ concerns — or, in this case, the lack thereof — Buttigieg is trying to find solidarity with the swing state, blue-collar voters who will ultimately decide the 2020 election. And as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, he has a better shot than the other candidates.
But it’s unlikely Buttigieg will have much luck. Democrats need more than the blue-collar vote; they need the minority vote, as well. And his policies have been consistently unpopular among African American voters not only in his own city but in the rest of the country, too. Buttigieg received 0% among South Carolina’s black likely voters, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll and just 1% among the same voter base in the recent Monmouth poll.
Besides, Buttigieg’s policies won’t win him the blue-collar vote. He’s already called for a steep tax hike on homes and businesses, and he’s disappointed many voters on trade — two issues that tend to motivate the independent voters who turned out for Trump in 2016.
Buttigieg wants to tap into the populist sentiment that propelled Trump to the presidency in 2016, but it’s a phenomenon he can’t recreate. His message might be right, but he’s the wrong messenger — just ask the voters.
