Hybrid AT 78 Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 When Pete Buttigieg walked onstage at this month’s Iowa Democratic Wing Ding dinner, the crowd exploded into perhaps their loudest cheer for any of the 20 presidential candidates there that night. He still commands attention, and inside that room there was real affection from voters who will matter soon. But six months have passed since Buttigieg’s breakout moment at a CNN town hall briefly propelled him from obscurity to serious contender, and this summer, he seems stuck in fifth place. Now, after a fundraising period in which he led all rivals, including former vice president Joe Biden and several senators with national followings, his team is working to build Buttigieg into a sustainable force capable of winning the Democratic nomination. “The first phase was just getting people to understand how to pronounce this impossible to pronounce Maltese last name,” Lis Smith, a senior adviser to the campaign who has been with Buttigieg from the start, told BuzzFeed News. “The second phase was to blow everyone out of the water on fundraising — everyone out of the ****ing water. Done. Done. Now the third phase is blow them out of the water with our organization and our organizational abilities.” The strategy, as explained in interviews this week with Smith and two other top aides, is to catch up with other campaign organizations in the early caucus and primary states and wait for candidates with less money to drop. Buttigieg’s paid staff has grown to more than 300 — up from 30 just a few months ago — with about 70 on the ground in Iowa and 50 in New Hampshire. New field offices are scheduled to open across both states next week. And the campaign has ramped up its digital advertising, using platforms such as Spotify. One move not under consideration: attacking Biden, who leads in most polls, or the others standing between him and Buttigieg. Past primaries have shown little benefit for those who target a frontrunner. A nasty feud between Howard Dean and **** Gephardt created space for eventual Democratic nominee John Kerry to win Iowa in 2004. Chris Christie wounded Marco Rubio with a slashing attack during a 2016 debate in New Hampshire, but Christie dropped out of the Republican race days later after a poor finish in that state’s primary. “I witnessed the 2004 primary and the dynamics there with Gephardt and Dean,” Smith said, “and I think that any presidential campaign that doesn’t understand a multiway primary and how [going negative] will affect their long-term standing is probably not going to be the campaign that will take on Donald Trump.” Buttigieg’s decision not to go negative is a tactic. Sometimes an apparently second-tier figure can stand aside while their rivals destroy one another, and step past them, as Kerry did in 2004. But it also reflects a bet on what both Democratic voters and the American electorate want, in terms both of policy and style: leadership whose primary orientation isn’t toward partisan confrontation and that holds out the hope of national unity. That is: a throwback to the hopes of the early Obama years. “This time in 2007 was when the Obama campaign felt the most vulnerable,” he said. “And then look what happens a few months later.” Obama won the Iowa caucuses, setting up his historic White House victory. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/henrygomez/pete-buttigieg-2020-campaign-phase?%3Fbftw=pol His total staff count now reaching 400, biggest of any candidate. That is how you win it, by building a solid ground game. His team also launched earlier today a grassroots account that has gained almost 20k followers in less than 24 hours. Follow for more good content. The only campaign that believes in hope and positivity, not in attacking others and engaging in childish Twitter fights Keep hating him. While he continues to stay winning. #PhaseThree going to snatch the wigs off your candidates' heads, y'all just ain't ready "I was protected by the monks of Azarath, I was raised by my friends. They are my family, this is my home and you are not welcome here." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATCAT 60,886 Posted September 4, 2019 Share Posted September 4, 2019 Okay so I'm pretty much 100% behind Warren/Sanders but if he can get up there I might be inclined to keep my mind open! This kitten over here (meow) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid AT 78 Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 24 minutes ago, FATCAT said: Okay so I'm pretty much 100% behind Warren/Sanders but if he can get up there I might be inclined to keep my mind open! Tbh I'm really not bothered about national polling when we're six months away from the Iowa caucuses and other primaries. Fall is when people actually start paying attention. There's a lot of time and literally anything can happen. I'm confident about his message and his campaign has a clear strategy. We'll see the dynamics shift soon. At this point in 2007, Hillary was outpolling Obama nationally. He won the Iowa caucuses and then look what happened. Let's see how the candidates perform at the upcoming debate night. "I was protected by the monks of Azarath, I was raised by my friends. They are my family, this is my home and you are not welcome here." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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