“Is there anything this man won’t do?”: Pete Buttigieg tries to convince 25 undecided voters to vote for Kamala Harris
Pete Buttigieg went to Jubilee to debate with 25 undecided voters from Michigan. While he didn’t convince all 25 to vote for his fellow Democrat Kamala Harris, Buttigieg’s demonstration of a civil debate with laypeople should inspire other politicians to try to do the same.
Buttigieg intended to promote Harris to the crowd. While most of these people leaned toward independent candidates, others were somewhat swayed to vote for Trump. One of these voters, Sailor, claimed that she was once a “hardcore Democrat.” John, another voter, says that he’d do “anything to completely demolish” the two-party system. It’s clear that many of them disliked the two-party system, which dominates US politics.
Despite their doubts, this crowd decided to engage with Buttigieg on a variety of issues that both Harris and Trump intend to tackle. Grace, who leans to voting for Trump, told Buttigieg that Democrats “had the opportunity” to enshrine reproductive rights as national law. Additionally, Grace brought up that Michigan’s constitution protects people’s rights to reproductive freedom. Buttigieg responded by arguing how important it is for civil rights to be national. The protection of reproductive rights is something Buttigieg believes is likelier to happen under Harris’ administration.
Buttigieg turned more voters to Harris’ side
A commenter claimed on YouTube that they’ve grown more respect for Buttigieg after this debate. They added, “Politicians should be open to this kind of real town hall.” It seems that Buttigieg’s conversations with undecided voters didn’t just sway social media lurkers. Ultimately, Buttigieg was able to convince twelve people to vote for Harris. Prior to the debate, eleven of these people were leaning to abstain. By the end, only three people were convinced to abstain. Five voters are now committed to Trump, and six will vote for a third-party candidate.
Needless to say, many people online were impressed by Buttigieg’s courage to engage with people who weren’t touched by the Harris campaign. One wrote, “Wait… @PeteButtigieg debated 25 undecided Michigan voters?! WHAT [?] Is there anything he won’t do? This man is fearless.”
This wasn’t just about how many people Buttigieg was able to persuade. His ability to converse with voters at the center should be the norm for democracy, even if they initially come from a place of disagreement.
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