Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg on Thursday continued to pitch himself as a candidate with experience outside of Washington, D.C., saying his background can appeal to people fed up with the nation’s capital.
“My campaign is about inclusion,” Mr. Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“I’m reaching out to progressives. I’m reaching out to moderates. But I also know that there are a lot of what I like to call future former Republicans out there,” he said.
“They’re coming to my events, talking about how they have not supported a Democrat before but they’re looking at things like the circus going on in Washington and what’s going on in this White House and saying you know, I can’t support that,” he said.
“They’re looking for an alternative,” he continued. “The message has to go out to these voters that you belong, that you are welcome in this coalition that we’re building.”
Asked if his experience as a smaller-city mayor is enough to run for national office, Mr. Buttigieg said: “It depends on whether you think Washington experience is the only experience that matters.”
At Wednesday’s debate, Mr. Buttigieg had pointed out that there was more than 100 years of collective “Washington experience” on the stage.
“And where are we right now as a country?” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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