Buttigieg has a serious Latino problem, too

[Gothmog]

Link to tweet

As Iowa and New Hampshire voters boost Pete Buttigieg’s presidential hopes, Latinos in Nevada and California are asking: Pete who?

Buttigieg’s struggles to connect with voters of color, even as he’s vaulted into the top-tier of the Democratic presidential race, doesn’t end with black voters. The South Bend mayor polls in the low single digits among Latinos, too. And Nevada — the third state to cast ballots and where Latinos make up about a third of the population — threatens to deliver a blow to the 37-year-old’s campaign before South Carolina even votes.

In interviews with more than a dozen Latino activists and leader from Washington to California and Nevada, some members of the key voting bloc describe Buttigieg’s outreach as non-existent. His problem among Latinos has been largely overlooked as Buttigieg labors to counter criticism that he is out of step with African Americans. That liability became so pronounced this week that Buttigieg felt compelled to personally call an African-American writer for The Root who ripped the mayor's past comments about low-income children of color.

Buttigieg has consistently polled in the low to mid-single-digits among Latinos. In a Fox News poll of Nevada released earlier this month, he had 1 percent support among Latinos, while Sanders led with 31 percent and Biden 24 had percent. A Telemundo poll found Buttigieg at 1 percent support among Latinos in Clark County, Nevada, home to Las Vegas. Nationally, Buttigieg drew 5 percent among Hispanics nationally in a recent Morning Consult poll.

[jezebel321]

1. I dont think you can claim anyone has a problem, until the votes are cast. nt

[Gothmog]

2. PETE BUTTIGIEG FACES 'INSURMOUNTABLE ROADBLOCK' WITH MINORITY VOTERS, SAYS DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST

Link to tweet

Speaking to Newsweek about the video yesterday, the strategist Estuardo Rodriguez said: "This video goes to the root of why there may be a lack of interest in Mayor Pete from Black and Latino voters. His remarks in the video oversimplify the challenges some communities face."

"In addition, his remarks assume that low income students primarily lack a good role model and they would then more easily be able to overcome the socio and economic barriers facing them and their parents, the institutional racism and bias encountered by these students many times overlooked for opportunities or entirely ignored."

He added that he was "sure" Buttigieg's views had "evolved since this video," but encouraged the mayor to "interview this 2011 Pete and dissect the bias and white privilege he so clearly demonstrated before he continues with this new, more arrogant, Mayor Pete that assumes he is currently best positioned to win even though he hasn't made a dent with black and Latino voters."...

As polling numbers stand, Buttigieg's ratings with minority voters bode poorly for his campaign following a series of missteps in office and on the trail—such as his attempt to fire South Bend's African-American police boss back in 2012.

A Quinnipiac University Poll released yesterday found that Buttigieg was supported by just 4 percent of black Democrat and Democrat-leaning voters nationally, while another recent FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll found that only around 16 per cent of black and hispanic voters backed the South Bend mayor.

Yet perhaps the most alarming poll for his campaign came from a November 18 Quinnipiac survey of likely Democratic voters in South Carolina, which revealed that less than 1 percent of black voters in the state supported Buttigieg.

[BuffaloJackalope]

3. They just hate Pete because he's gay. /s

[Demsrule86]

5. I don't think that is necessarily true...the police chief thing was not addressed.

[BuffaloJackalope]

6. I'm just parroting the one-note defense Pete seems to get here.

[left-of-center2012]

7. Some fear Mayor Pete

Got to take him down so their candidate can get traction.

[BuffaloJackalope]

8. This is a serious issue that won't go away until Buttigieg addresses it directly.

Dismissing it out of hand won't make it just go away.

On the bright side, Pete understands that there's a problem - unlike some of his supporters - but he can't seem to grasp what the problem is.

[left-of-center2012]

9. You're making my point

Thanks

[BuffaloJackalope]

10. That a major candidate should just dismiss a serious issue affecting a huge chuck of the Dem base?

Thank God Pete doesn't believe that. Pray that he gets better supporters.

[Merlot]

28. Or, it's the truth.

Mayor Pete isn't some wonderful truth teller who is feared by the establishment. He's just a centrist candidate who hasn't made inroads to different groups.

[left-of-center2012]

29. "feared by the establishment"?

No.
Just by other candidates who see him rising while they stagnate.

[True Blue American]

27. Meanwhile Mayor Pete

So going way up in the older voter group. They just announced that on MSNBC!

Seems his message is really resonating with that group!Surprise!

[tishaLA]

4. This is really inexcusable

"In interviews with more than a dozen Latino activists and leader from Washington to California and Nevada, some members of the key voting bloc describe Buttigieg’s outreach as non-existent."

His campaign is flush with cash, yet he waited until late September to look for someone to do African American outreach and he *still* isn't doing significant outreach to Latinos. If his campaign weren't fundraising the way it is, I could understand--Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker, for example, don't have the funds to do tons of Latino outreach--but his campaign has every resource it could want and it seems to be doing very little. Cynical people might think that's because the campaign doesn't value those votes.

[ritapria]

11. According to a CNN voter study

African-Americans comprised 23% of the 2016 Democratic Primary Electorate … Latinos comprised 12% of the vote …….Hillary finished off Bernie by crushing him with the AA vote …...If Mayor Pete wants to make a serious run at the nomination he must reach out to POC …… That share of the Latino vote is likely increase to increase to 15% in 2020 ,,,. Whites may comprise just 60% of the total Dem Primary vote in 2020

[BootinUp]

12. If the pundits and other "experts" say so

[BuffaloJackalope]

13. Seems it's POC saying so.

Is the need to reach out to black & Latino communities really that difficult a concept?

[BootinUp]

14. 3 short points.

First this is not a sprint, if people haven’t yet heard about or from the campaign I see no reason to assume it’s because he or they don’t think it’s important to do. More like he’s a new face and is doing the best he can to cover the bases. Pete has been executing well so far and I expect that to continue.

Second He has talked about it. Are we pretending he has not today? No I am not concerned about this “crisis “.

[BuffaloJackalope]

15. Pay attention. To the people in South Bend this has been going on for years.

This isn't a new thing dragging at Pete's heels.

[BootinUp]

16. From what I can tell from paying attention is that the

Complaints have gotten his attention too. That’s why he met with protesters instead of campaigning, and put together proposals to address the issues. You are making it like he is ignoring folks. I have not seen any actual evidence of that.

[BuffaloJackalope]

17. Pete's not dismissing the issue.

Unlike some of his supporters.

[BootinUp]

18. lol. nt

[BuffaloJackalope]

19. And there you go dismissing the issue.

[BootinUp]

20. I dont think so, and never would. nt

[BuffaloJackalope]

21. Assigning these real concerns to unnamed "pundits" and not real people is dismissing them.

Nice try though

[BootinUp]

22. I leave it as is. All the posts. Nt

[BuffaloJackalope]

24. as expected

[AngelicaHora]

23. He can't be everywhere at once

Plus his campaign had to scale up incredibly fast. I'm not sure what these people are expecting. He's done plenty of Latino outreach already, but if he doesn't place top 2 in Iowa then it's pretty much game over. So obviously that's where he spends most of his time.

[Gothmog]

25. Buttitieg has not met with Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

26. No worries. Pete will roll out a Chavez plan for Hispanics

named after Cesar Chavez, after focus group testing