Amy Klobuchar Has a Pete Buttigieg Problem [View all]

[Shrek]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/11/amy-klobuchar-pete-buttigieg-2020/601483/

Klobuchar has been experiencing a boomlet of late: In less than a week after the last Democratic debate, during which she criticized Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts for refusing to explain exactly how she would pay for Medicare for All, Klobuchar raised $2 million, and she’s gotten more endorsements from lawmakers in Iowa than any other presidential candidate. Recently, Klobuchar has more forcefully positioned herself as somewhere between the front-runners in the race—a moderate alternative to Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont who can attract the voters wary of former Vice President Joe Biden.

This could be Klobuchar’s moment. But it appears, at least right now, to be someone else’s.

Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has also been casting himself as the pragmatic alternative to the more progressive front-runners. And it seems to be working for him: The most recent poll from ABC/The Washington Post showed Klobuchar with 2 percent support nationwide, compared with roughly 9 percent for Buttigieg. While the voters I spoke with at Monday’s event were happy to hear from Klobuchar and extol her experience as a purple-state senator, almost no one was fully committed to supporting her in the primary. But everyone—everyone—was singing Buttigieg’s praises.