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Who should be the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee?
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Pete Buttigieg will get the rural vote.

Buttigieg understands the issues facing rural voters; he has successfully targeted the rural demographic and has an $80 billion plan in place to aid and improve these communities.
2020 US Election Pete Buttigieg

Context

Post-2016 election, there is a lot of concern that the Democratic party is not doing enough to reach out to rural voters.

The Argument

Buttigieg has spent much of his campaign going after rural voters, and has been largely successful. From a policy point of view, he has released an $80 billion plan to revamp rural communities through initiatives like ending teacher shortages and improving internet access.[1] He also ensures he appears to understand and sympathise with rural voters. He listens to their concerns about trade wars and climate change.[2] Rural voters are used to feeling left behind but they do not feel this way with Buttigieg. Democrats going forward need to take back the rural vote that Trump was so successful in winning in 2016. Buttigieg has proved he is up to the task.

Counter arguments

Buttigieg struggles to appeal to minority voters, particularly African-Americans. As of November 2019 he had only 6 endorsements from black or Hispanic elected officials and was polling at less than one per cent among black South Carolina voters.[3] This was not helped by his reaction to a black man being shot by a white police officer in his constituency of South Bend, Indiana. He was accused by residents of not dealing with the issue and using it for personal gain on the campaign trail, as well as not dealing with a lack of resources for African-American residents of South Bend throughout his term.[4] It is nearly impossible for a Democratic candidate to win without the black vote, and while Buttigieg may be able to appeal to rural voters that feel disenfranchised by the current state of the Democratic party, it may come at the cost of a huge decrease in voters of colour.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Buttigieg has spent time on the ground as Mayor for a city in a rural area. [P2] Therefore, Buttigieg as a candidate will get the crucial rural vote for the Democrats.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] While the rural vote may be a key area Democrats lacked in 2016, this does not reduce the importance of the lack of appeal Buttigieg may hold for other minority groups.

References

  1. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/457234-buttigieg-releases-80b-plan-to-unleash-rural-americas-potential
  2. https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/caucus/2019/08/13/pete-buttigieg-my-plan-re-imagines-opportunity-rural-america-iowa-caucus/1997170001/
  3. https://poll.qu.edu/south-carolina/release-detail?ReleaseID=3649
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/27/pete-buttigieg-police-shooting-south-bend-indiana
This page was last edited on Friday, 5 Jun 2020 at 22:06 UTC

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