He’s just a likable, plain spoken Midwestern mayor who happens to be about everything that Donald Trump isn’t. Now, South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg has surged to third place in a new Iowa poll, making strides in a crowded field in the key caucus state.
The 37-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan vet jumped to earn 11 percent support in the latest Emerson poll of Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa.
He trailed two vastly better known candidates: former Vice President Joe Biden, who hasn’t yet entered the race, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Back in January, Buttigieg didn’t even register in the poll, scoring 0 percent.
California Sen. Kamala Harris, who was at 18 percent in January, saw her support drop to 10 percent in the latest Emerson poll.
Spencer Kimball, who directed the poll, called the showing by the politician who goes by “Mayor Pete” was the biggest surprise in the survey.
“Last week we saw him inching up in our national poll, and now he’s in double digits in Iowa, America is going to be asking who is ‘Mayor Pete’?” he said.
His performance in the poll was boosted by placing second in the 18-to-29-year-old demographic, with 22 percent. Sanders led that category with 44 percent.
“If Buttigieg is able to maintain his momentum, his candidacy appears to be pulling from the same demographic of young voters as Sanders, and that could become a problem for Sanders,” Kimball said.
Buttigieg got a burst of publicity off a strong performance in a CNN town hall.
His campaign said he raised $600,000 after his appearance.
In one notable moment, he blasted Indiana Gov. Mike Pence for his support for Trump despite the Stormy Daniels saga.
“How would he allow himself to become the cheerleader for the porn star presidency? Is it that he stopped believing in scripture when he started believing Donald Trump?” Buttigieg asked. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”
His unusual bio and Midwestern roots give him give him selling points in Iowa, where caucus-goers expect to get to know candidates through personal encounters.
Buttigieg is a Rhodes scholar who earned a degree from Harvard University, and serves as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserves.
The son of academics at He served in Afghanistan vet who is mayor of South Bend and taught himself Norwegian.
If elected Buttigieg would be the first gay president.