Buttigieg Getting Second Look From Blacks, Latinos After NH

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, coming off a second-place finish in New Hampshire's Democratic primary, said Wednesday his campaign is now getting a second look from black and Latino voters.

"The key is to take the momentum that we have been able to demonstrate in Iowa and New Hampshire, settling the question of whether we could build a campaign with appeal across age groups and different kinds of community, and now take it to Nevada, to South Carolina," Buttigieg told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Buttigieg — who earned 13 delegate votes in the Iowa caucuses, one behind Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. — added that he respects Sanders as the winner of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, but he doesn't think most people can see how they fit in his message that "you're either for a revolution or you have to be for the status quo ... our message is one of delivering real, meaningful, bold, progressive reform in a way that can actually bring Americans together, not further polarize us at a time like this."

Buttigieg said that to attract voters to his side, he is inviting them to a campaign producing "the most progressive presidency we've had in a half-century."

This would include his plans on healthcare, which would allow people to keep their private coverage, and on other issues that would bring about change but would still have ways they can be financed.

Buttigieg also pointed to the experience he has had as a mayor, including the economic work there that gained national attention when it drove a "dramatic fall in black unemployment and black poverty" that was faster than the national change.

The numbers from Iowa and New Hampshire have quieted questions about whether his campaign is viable, said Buttigieg, leading to the new look from minority voters "who have so much riding on making sure that we defeat [President] Donald Trump."

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