Maltese-American Pete Buttigieg Surges To Third In Polls For Democratic Party Presidential Nomination
The idea of Maltese-American Pete Buttigieg becoming the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee is actually looking like it could become reality after he surged to third place in the polls.
An Emerson poll for the Iowa caucus, the first major contest in the race for the nomination, puts Buttigieg at 11% ahead of Democratic Party stalwarts like Senator Elizabeth Warren, former California Attorney General Kamala Harris, and the popular Beto O’Rourke.
Buttigieg does still face an upward battle with former Vice President Joe Biden leading the pack with 25%, followed closely by Senator Bernie Sanders at 24%.
This does, however, represent a huge upturn in form for Buttigieg after the same poll put him at 0% when he announced his candidature in January. And with the Iowa caucus a year away, Buttigieg could just be a serious contender for the presidency.
“The biggest surprise in this poll is Mayor Pete, 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’?” Spencer Kimball, director of the Emerson Poll, said
Buttigieg’s surge in popularity should not come as a surprise after he stole the show at a Town Hall meeting organised by CNN where he called out US Vice President Mike Pence for becoming “the cheerleader for the porn star presidency”.
The presidential-hopeful was also able to show a more personal side and clearly outline his policy-vision for America in a well-received Vice News feature.
Mayor Pete, as he’s known, frequently talks about matters that are not strictly political, and looks for real solutions for people rather than discuss the ideological spectrum.
CAPTION PHOTO: Pete Buttigieg arrives for a campaign stop in Portsmouth, N.H. on March 8. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
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