Mayor of South Bend, Ind., Pete Buttigieg , is one of more than two dozen candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination and made several stops in western Iowa on Independence Day. Buttigieg spent nearly two hours meeting with and taking questions from potential voters at a Carroll County Democrats barbecue in Graham Park on Thursday. He told the crowd of approximately 250 that freedom means different things to different people, but there are certain things necessary to enjoy that freedom.
According to Buttigieg, these values should point America in a progressive direction. He said Democrats will need to do a better job of engaging with voters in rural and conservative districts if they want their message to resonate in historically Republican regions.
Buttigieg then opened the floor to questions from attendees, the first of which came from an Omaha, Neb. man who writes for the Powerline blog. The man offered a solution to the recent racial tensions in South Bend following the shooting of a 54-year-old black man by police. He suggested the mayor “just tell the black people of South Bend to stop committing crime and doing drugs.” Buttigieg responded by saying racism is not the answer.
Earlier this week, Buttigieg’s campaign unveiled his plans to expand national service opportunities for Americans. He explained how this idea will benefit the nation’s citizens.
During the campaign stop, Buttigieg also discussed a variety of issues, including the expansion of gun control through universal background checks, the elimination of gerrymandering and utilization of the Farm Bill to support research into sustainable agriculture to fight climate change.
