Pete Buttigieg Wants To Ride Momentum From Iowa And New Hampshire Into Pennsylvania
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Fresh off a win in Iowa and a second-place finish in New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg says the momentum is building for his campaign.
"I think so many of my fellow Democrats and a lot of independents and even some Republicans are laser-focused on making sure that we bring an end to the Trump presidency," the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana told KDKA. "That means building the biggest possible coalition. It means having a unifying message."
How does he plan to get states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio to flip from their 2016 support of President Donald Trump to his campaign?
"It is imperative that we reach out in a lot of communities that feel completely left behind by the political and economic realities today and demonstrate how we are going to raise wages, how we are going to deliver health care, how we are going to ensure that there is a better future for our communities," Buttigieg said.
Much of his early campaigning has been done in Iowa and New Hampshire.
If he didn't get off to a fast start there, the rest wouldn't matter.
Buttigieg now says he can start to set his sights on other important stops, like western Pennsylvania.
"Definitely looking forward to being back in Pittsburgh. We were there recently for a forum with educators and teachers and sitting down also with community leaders and talking about issues from economic development to racial justice and we will certainly not be a stranger to Pittsburgh and other parts of Pennsylvania on the road ahead," Buttigieg said.
After long delays in getting caucus results in Iowa, Buttigieg says it is critical future races are not so close.
"I am also determined to put together an inclusive campaign that is so responsive the needs of Americans that we will not even have a close election. The best way to be sure these questions don't arise on election day is to make certain the margin is well out of cheating distance."
He added President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans seem indifferent to potential attacks on the integrity of American elections.