Out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has become one of the most in-demand surrogates on the campaign trails of Democrats across the country running in the midterm elections.
While President Joe Biden is still requested more often than he is, requests for appearances from Buttigieg have surpassed those for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to CNN.
Some of this can be explained by the fact that it is far more expensive for Harris to travel anywhere due to the costs of the added security, in addition to the increased scrutiny Harris is under from Democrats and Republicans alike.
But it’s also due to the fact that people just love Buttigieg.
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“A senior staffer on our campaign says, ‘Throwing in two cents from our finance director – our San Francisco people have expressed that they don’t really care about POTUS, VPOTUS or the first lady. … They just really like Secretary Pete,’” said an aide for a West Coast Democrat running for the House.
Buttigieg’s appearances have included headlining an event for Ohio gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley (D) and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D). He also headlined a Democratic fall fundraising dinner in New Hampshire, where he won the Democratic primary while running for president in 2020.
“When I was asked by the party, ‘Who do we want as a surrogate?’ not only was I supportive of Pete, because yeah, I want him back here, but I think that he’s the kind of messenger that we want on the ground to get people fired up ahead of the midterms,” state Rep. Matt Wilhelm (D) reportedly tweeted.
Buttigieg, a highly skilled speaker, has proven valuable to campaigns in the past. During the 2020 presidential election, he became known for his many savage takedowns of Fox News commentators during appearances on their shows while speaking out for the Biden-Harris ticket.
