Buttigieg Surges as Some Voters Begin Suffering 'Beto Overload'

[left-of-center2012]

Kim Sweat is the type of voter who might worry Beto O’Rourke’s campaign. Infatuated with O’Rourke since his 2018 Senate bid in Texas, Sweat hosted a watch party for his presidential campaign launch at her Davenport, Iowa, home in March. She ordered an O’Rourke yard sign, and she went to two of his early events in Iowa. Then she started to hear more about Pete Buttigieg. After attending her third O’Rourke event on Monday, she concluded: “I’m not as smitten with him anymore.”

Sweat’s burgeoning support of Buttigieg and her waning interest in O’Rourke is mirrored in national polls of the 2020 Democratic nomination race. Over the past two months, Buttigieg surged from a virtual unknown to the top tier of contenders as O’Rourke slipped down. “I’m hoping that I’m just on Beto overload, but my problem is I really enjoy Mayor Pete,” said Sweat, 43. “I don’t feel like he’s digging into a bag and pulling out an answer.”

It’s a question of how much space there is in an already crowded field for two candidates with so many similarities. Both are white men from conservative states who have drawn praise for their oratory skills and ability to connect with voters. The two have also staked their candidacies on appealing to young voters, with Buttigieg, 37, calling for a “generational change” in leadership and O’Rourke, 46, campaigning on college campuses, saying he draws his inspiration from “the very youngest among us in our democracy.” Daniel Williams, 22, said that while he and many of his friends remain undecided, they have started to shift their attention away from O’Rourke and toward Buttigieg, who he said was a more exciting candidate.

Buttigieg also has been the getting the attention of conservatives. “I think Pete Buttigieg is the most impressive, by far, candidate in terms of just raw political talent in the Democratic field," Brit Hume, a Fox News senior political analyst, said after Buttigieg participated in a town hall on the network. “And, he may be the most impressive candidate I’ve seen since the emergence of Barack Obama.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-23/buttigieg-surges-as-some-voters-begin-suffering-beto-overload?srnd=politics-vp

[dalton99a]

1. What "Beto overload"?

He was hardly in the news this year until last week

vs.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/29/lis-smith-buttigieg-2020-president-campaign-manager-226756
‘I Want Him on Everything’: Meet the Woman Behind the Buttigieg Media Frenzy

[nevergiveup]

2. Totally agree.

It is a great example of the media controlling the narrative.

[marylandblue]

3. Buttigieg is controlling the media. He pushed to get himself on everything.

He didn't just accept offers, he sought them out. Anyone who has a good TV presence and pushes hard to get on, will have the media eating out of his hand. O'Rourke made the opposite decision and his coverage has become less favorable over time.

[dalton99a]

4. So how did Beto give people "overload" if he wasn't on TV and magazines?

The guy was driving around in the boonies and the only media exposure he had was local

[marylandblue]

5. He didn't. He lost the media due to failure to cultivate them.

Then the media hunts for a narrative to explain why they don't like him anymore that doesn't involve their own hurt feelings.

[dalton99a]

6. It's a bullshit headline.

[marylandblue]

7. What do you think the media actually does to make money?

The give out BS headlines that get a reaction, and you reacted. They don't care if you don't like it, they only care that people react to it. If it upsets you enough, you might even tune in. I hope you don't though. I don't watch cable news at all.

They also protect their own role in creating narratives, so you'll never see a headline like, "Media punishes Beto for not Giving Enough Interviews."

[DesertRat]

16. I agree. Many of these media headlines are just clickbait. nt

[DownriverDem]

9. I just want

to beat trump. Personally, I think we have way too many folks running. I keep waiting for the clown car commercials like the Dems ran about the repubs.

[Indygram]

10. The two most likely to be able to beat Trump are...

Biden and Beto. Mayor Pete doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell. He should drop out and run for Congress.

[dalton99a]

12. People can do whatever they want.

The mayor has no upward path in Indiana in terms of elective office. His congressional district is very red.

Running for president was a genius move - he parlayed the checkboxes on his resume and his special pioneering status into a highly successful PR blitzkrieg - so there is a very lucrative career ahead in whatever field he chooses and his financial future is assured

But no, African-Americans will not support his nomination - and deplorables and evangelicals will crawl through broken glass to vote against a gay couple in the White House (or his being VP to the elderly Biden)

[cwydro]

23. Why doesn't he stand a "snowball's chance in hell?"

Because he’s gay?

[BannonsLiver]

11. Nah

I think this article lays it out pretty well. Pete just stole his thunder. Of course that’s not going to be enough for Pete who won’t be the nominee either.

[msongs]

13. bloomberg trying to set and control the agenda. nt

[left-of-center2012]

14. Don't blame the messenger

Beto isn't gaining traction in a field of 22+

[Turin_C3PO]

15. Love Buttigieg!

He’d be great in the Oval Office if Biden doesn’t get the nomination.

[madville]

17. It wasn't Mayor Pete

That Washington Post interview Beto did with Jenna Johnson in January exposed Beto's weaknesses and he's been downhill ever since.

The media has a heavy hand in picking our candidate, Beto lost them.

[cwydro]

24. There've been several articles like that one.

Even the Vanity Fair article was damning.

[RLG]

18. "Beto Overload"?

Who wrote this article? Lis Smith?

If anything, it's the exact opposite.

I still don't think the Democrats will nominate a small town mayor to go against Trump, no matter how smooth he is.

[cwydro]

20. "Smooth?"

Interesting choice of words.

I’d have said Beto was the slicker of the two.

[JI7]

21. this is so stupid and a sign of media wanting simplistic horse races

what it's hurting Beto and everyone else is mostly Bidens entry into the race.

also mayor Pete is not surging. the difference between everyone other than Biden is not much.

the media sees 2 young white guys and assumes their support would be the exact same.

[earthshine]

22. It's simple -- what does Beto offer that cannot be had with other candidates?