Pete Buttigieg claims Iowa is going to make him America’s next president

Former South Bend mayor steps up attacks on rivals as crucial first vote approaches

Pete Buttigieg has claimed Iowa will make him the nation’s next president, as he sharpened his attacks on his Democratic rivals, accusing them of being too extreme or too establishment.

In an attempt to nail down support in a state that could determine whether his campaign lives or dies, the 38-year-old sought to draw a distinction between two other frontrunners, Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.

These were not Donald Trump-style attacks by any stretch. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has based much of his pitch to voters by largely declining to go negative on fellow Democrats.

But with voters in Iowa holding their caucuses on Monday evening and Buttigieg claiming it was set to make history once again, his comments about the two septuagenarians carried a little barb nonetheless.

“I saw Joe Biden made the comment that this is not the time to run with an inexperienced nominee. I think it’s a danger to fall on the familiar playback of the party,” he said on Friday night, speaking in the basketball court at Davenport’s St Ambrose University in eastern Iowa.

“Meanwhile, Senator Sanders says there is no alternative between either revolution and the status quo.”

By any measure, Buttigieg has already performed better than most may have anticipated. Nationally, he sits in fifth place according to a recent New York Times poll, which put him on seven points, behind Biden on 27, Sanders on 24, Elizabeth Warren on 14, and Michael Bloomberg on eight points.

But in Iowa, the largely white and predominantly rural state in the midwest, he is third, with Biden and Sanders tied for first place.

Buttigieg reflected on the amount of time he had spent in the state and how he had steadily established name recognition and support. He also reminded the audience of how he came here to knock on doors for Barack Obama in the caucuses of 2008.

Yet, it all counts for very little if people do not come out for him on Monday. While he is competitive in New Hampshire, the next state to vote, he is doing less well in South Carolina, and Nevada, highlighting a persistent challenge for him to secure support from people of colour.

At St Ambrose, plenty of people said they had not yet made their minds up on who to vote for, but wanted to hear what Buttigieg had to say. Some said they were leaning towards the former mayor.

“The most important thing is that we have to beat Donald Trump. I want to back the candidate who has the best chance,” said 61-year-old Sue Elsom, from Davenport.

Kristine Long had come to see Buttigieg from Moline, a few miles away across the Mississippi River in Illinois. Her state does not hold its primary until 17 March, but she was taking the opportunity to see as many of the candidates as possible pouring into Iowa in recent weeks and months.

Long, 56, said she liked many of those she had listened to, including Warren, but she was concerned none of the Democrats had what it took to take on and defeat Trump in November.

Penny Forster, 64, voiced similar concerns. “I am worried we don’t have a candidate to stand up to Trump,” she said. “I wish Michelle Obama was running, or else Oprah.”

Buttigieg won over at least one new supporter on Friday. Kevin Orval said he had not seen the candidate before, but was won over by his honesty and integrity.

“We have to beat Trump,” he added. “We can’t have four more years of this.”

At the heart of Buttigieg’s stump speech is a challenge to voters to imagine the day after Trump leaves office – something that invariably earns applause – but which he uses to have them consider the challenges facing whomever enters the Oval Office.

He finished his appeal by saying people ought not to be forced to choose between their heads and their hearts.

“Here we go. Everybody’s going to remember what Iowa does in three days,” he said.

“Iowa has the power to change the idea of what is possible in politics. Iowa, I think you’re gong to make me the next president of the United States and I promise I will work for you, every single day.”