Buttigieg In San Francisco To Raise Funds As He Gains On Harris In Polls
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) -- Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg was in one of his rivals' backyard Friday looking to raise money for his campaign.
Buttigieg was in San Francisco Friday attending three fundraisers. Several national polls show the South Bend, Indiana mayor within a few points of Sen. Kamala Harris, the Oakland native and former San Francisco District Attorney who is re-tooling her campaign.
Some 1,200 people are expected to attend Buttigieg's sold-out evening event at the Regency Ballroom.
Fundraising data from the first quarter of 2019 shows that, of all the candidates, Harris and Buttigieg had the most contributors in common. And national polls followed by Real Clear Politics show the Buttigieg has been increasing in popularity since March, averaging 6.6 percent support, while Harris has slid down to an average of 7 percent.
Even Democratic fundraising powerhoue Susie Tompkins Buell, who endorsed Harris in February, is also helping Buttigieg raise money.
Manny Yekutiel, who owns a restaurant in San Francisco's Mission District called Manny's, has already hosted an event with Buttigieg and will host one for Harris as well. He has not decided on a candidate yet, but is impressed with all of them.
As for how to make a final decision, he says some people are waiting to see how the candidates do on the campaign trail and in the debates. "People just want someone to beat Donald Trump. And they want to do everything they can to make sure that that happens."