The white voters who come to Pete Buttigieg's rallies just don't understand.
Many of them fell for the 37-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, the first time they heard him speak: his calm demeanor, his intelligence, the way he seemed to appeal to progressives and moderates alike.
But his support among Democratic-leaning black voters nationally is stuck in the abysmally low single digits.
I dont understand that, said Bill Koeneig, a physician in Des Moines who said Buttigieg is one of his top choices in the first-in-the-nation caucuses.
I dont understand it, said Julie Walstrom, a retired teacher in Perry, Iowa, who is deciding between Buttigieg, former vice president Joe Biden, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
I dont understand what that issue could possibly be, said Doug Gardner, a retired sales worker in Urbandale.
In nearly two dozen interviews across Iowa this month, white voters struggled to reconcile their affection for Buttigieg with how black voters see the candidate. Some said it simply didnt matter to them. Many more had been grappling with how to think about the disconnect and Buttigiegs challenges: Some were worried, others frustrated. ... Buttigieg is among the frontrunners in Iowa and New Hampshire, the two mostly white states that play an outsize role in deciding the presidential nomination as the first two states to vote. But his standing is lower nationally. In South Carolina, a key early-voting state because of its large black population, Buttigieg has frequently pulled 0% among black voters.
The vast majority of white Iowa voters said theyd heard about Buttigiegs difficulties with voters of color. Many had heard, particularly, of his record in South Bend, where he was criticized for his handling of police relations and housing issues in communities of color.
I think its partly because of the incident that happened in South Bend, said Sue Seidenfeld, a retired physician assistant in Waukee who said she was undecided in the race and had come to see Buttigieg in Winterset. She did not specify the incident.
I think that maybe that black voters feel like he wasnt as empathetic as he could have been, and as on top of the situation as he should have been, she said. Which is kind of a shame because he has to be impartial, and he has to take some time to see what really the facts were, and I think people are too quick to judge sometimes.
She paused and added: But maybe not, you know. There may be something to it.
Still, Seidenfeld said, it wasnt an issue that was going to affect her vote either way. She thought Buttigieg was more empathetic to minorities than a lot of people. I also think, for what its worth, that its a shame that people think that Iowa shouldnt be the first [caucus] in the nation. Because after all, we were the first to go for Barack Obama. [Antifar's note: ]
Buttigieg has long acknowledged his deficiencies with black voters, though he and his allies attribute it to his newness on the national scene. He has proposed a plan named for the abolitionist Frederick Douglass aimed at addressing institutional racism. Even so, a recent Washington PostIpsos poll measured support for Buttigieg among black voters who were familiar with him at 3% nationally. His aides believe strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, white as they may be, will show Buttigieg is for real and that he can convince Democratic voters of color that hes the best choice to defeat President Donald Trump.
Iowa and New Hampshire, by the pure fact of the primacy rule, have an outsize impact, a Buttigieg adviser told BuzzFeed News. Theyre the first demonstrable tests of electability and viability in the primary beyond the polls.
To explain their theory another way: Biden propelled by decades in public life and two terms as vice president under the nations first black president is leading the field among black voters; for the moment, he looks unbeatable in South Carolina, where black voters account for most of the Democratic electorate. If Buttigieg can finish better than or on par with Biden in Iowa and New Hampshire, black voters might reconsider their choices before South Carolinas late February primary.
Buttigiegs voters, too, often echoed this hopefulness, saying they thought he might win over black voters after a strong finish in Iowa.
Rick Smith, a Buttigieg precinct captain from Urbandale, believes Buttigiegs main problem is name recognition. To me its no surprise whatsoever that Biden is leading with people of color, he said, adding that Sens. Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, two black candidates who entered the 2020 race with loads of promise, had trouble gaining traction with black voters before ending their campaigns.
I think its a matter of Pete showing those folks that he can win, because they really want a winner, Smith said. I know Iowa is not the most representative state, but winning is winning everywhere. Showing you can win means a lot.
Maria Waters, a Des Moines caucusgoer committed to Buttigieg, wrestled with the candidates lack of black support as she waited to hear him speak Sunday night at the State Historical Museum of Iowa.
I look around the crowd, and I think, Why are we not winning them? Waters told BuzzFeed News. It is a little discouraging.
No matter what, the subject of Buttigieg and black voters almost always made Iowans uneasy. They said they thought race shouldnt matter then corrected themselves to add that they knew it often did.
It gives me a little pause, said Justin Stoffa, a strong Buttigieg supporter who worked in youth ministry in Des Moines, of Buttigiegs polling with black voters. But Stoffa said he didnt think candidates should target specific demographics.
You should treat everyone as human beings, and dont worry so much about their skin color. Although that plays a role, we cant ignore history and cultural context and the real effect thats played. But ultimately, not to pander, I think thats a thing, he said.
Stoffa had read about Black Lives Matter protesters interrupting Buttigiegs events in Los Angeles. I dont know, he said. I dont know how in tune with the African American community at large they are, but I I dont know. I think itll be interesting.
Delicately, Stoffa added, I dont know, though, that he has to have the same coalition that Barack Obama did to win the election.
A few minutes later, a group of Black Lives Matter protesters from South Bend disrupted Buttigiegs town hall forum