Pete Buttigieg asks likely caucusgoers: ‘Are you ready to make history one more time?'

WATERLOO, Ia. — The way Pete Buttigieg tells it, the first time he visited Iowa was roughly 12 years ago to knock on doors for Barack Obama, when the nation’s first black president was making his bid for the White House.

“I saw Iowa change what America thought was possible on caucus night,” Buttigieg recalled Saturday as loud cheers emanated from the hundreds cramped inside an old ballroom in eastern Iowa.

Buttigieg also remembered, he continued, seeing from afar when the Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 2009 to uphold same-sex marriages. The consequential decision paved the way for a 2015 ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court.

“You all changed what people … thought was possible once again, and gave someone like me permission to believe that one day I would be able to wear this wedding ring,” Buttigieg told the crowd. “… You did that.”

In Des Moines on Sunday, at his final rally before the Iowa caucuses, the 38-year-old Buttigieg asked the audience: “So, are you ready to make history one more time?”

In venues big and small, urban and rural, Buttigieg is embracing the historic nature of his candidacy in the final hours. He would be the first openly gay president if elected, as well as the youngest.

But before Buttigieg can possibly be either one of those things, he needs some kind of win in the first-in-the-nation caucus state to boost his chances in other early voting elections on the nominating calendar. Buttigieg will have more opportunities this year to do that, though it will come down to the narratives that emerge after caucus night.

“There are a lot of things about my campaign that are, of course, improbable,” Buttigieg told reporters on Saturday. “Iowa has helped put us in this position and I think it helped cement our position as the leading candidate on our way to the nomination. And I want to make sure that Iowans are reminded of that as we pull into these final hours.”

Elevating Iowans' voices on the trail

Buttigieg has tried to make a closing pitch by highlighting the voices of Iowans he's met.

Sayde Weller is one of them. The 17-year-old high school senior was inside an a VFW in Emmetsburg last month for a Buttigieg town hall when she decided to ask a question. She felt nervous.

“I counted 'one, two, three,' then bolted my hand up,” Sayde said about the moment.

Sayde asked about family separation along the U.S. and Mexico border, but by noting that her father left her family three years ago and the pain it brought her.

"Why do people think that in any way, it's a good idea to separate children from their parents, from their siblings, at all?" she asked.

Buttigieg appeared moved by Sayde's question. He asked to meet the teenager and her grandmother afterward. He's now shared Sayde's story with hundreds of others.

Iowans have often appeared in Buttigieg's speeches. There’s the farmer in Shenandoah who asked about flooding and climate change; the man in Keokuk who asked about disabilities rights; and many shared stories about not being able to afford health care.

"Ultimately, I think politics is all about everyday life, and that's how our lives are impacted by the decisions that are made in Washington," Buttigieg told the Des Moines Register. "And so being able to connect with Iowans who have these deeply personal relationships, to what's going on in the campaign and in the country, helps me explain how those values that we talk about all the time are actually at stake."

Tabatha Lamb has become part of Buttigieg's narrative. The high school teacher from Des Moines, who often works multiple jobs, introduced Buttigieg in Ankeny last summer. Buttigieg brings her up to highlight his plans to ensure worker protections in the so-called gig economy.

“I know he’s meeting literally hundreds and hundreds of people every day. So for me, that's a huge honor,” the 37-year-old said.

The connections breed loyalty. Lamb has helped connect the campaign to people in her community and plans to drive volunteers around this weekend. Sayde is now also volunteering for the campaign. At recent events in Storm Lake and Mason City, she helped sign in attendees and tried to get people in line to sign commit to caucus cards. She said Buttigieg has changed her life.

“I literally can't put into words how much of a sense of belonging, how special, he made me feel in that moment,” she said about meeting Buttigieg and his messaging. “He made me feel like I need to share my thoughts and ideas … because they're important and it matters.”

On a recent day in Muscatine, Bridgette Bissell waited in a small room, holding a gift bag for Buttigieg. The 16-year-old squealed when the former mayor entered the room. The two hugged, like old friends, as the teenager’s family watched nearby.

“Look who’s here!” Buttigieg said. “… Let’s sit for a bit, I think we have a little bit of time.”

A few feet away, behind curtains, hundreds of people were waiting for Buttigieg’s town hall to start.

Inside the gift bag was Bridgette’s present to Buttigieg for his 38th birthday: A framed photo of the two of them.

Nearly every day in Iowa, Buttigieg has shared the story of Bridgette, a teenager with autism who told him after an event months ago that she felt like she belonged through his campaign.

“It was one of the moments … in this whole campaign that I thought, ‘Now we’re getting somewhere,’” he said later at his Muscatine town hall.

In November, Buttigieg invited Bridgette to be his guest at the Liberty and Justice Celebration Dinner. Bridgette stood next to Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten, as they cheered on the candidate.

Bridgette's mother will be a precinct leader on caucus night. Bridgette has a social media presence, elevated through the campaign, that has connected her with hundreds of people.

“It makes me feel like I really belong,” Bridgette said. “And that’s something I haven’t felt in quite a long time.”

'I am thinking, he’s got this'

On the final day before the Iowa caucuses, Buttigieg scheduled rallies in Coralville and Des Moines. He appeared on Sunday network television shows, where he was repeatedly asked if he needs to do well in Iowa.

It was the culmination of weeks of back-to-back town halls in Iowa. Buttigieg held about 50 events here in January, and more than a half dozen this weekend. His volunteers planned to knock on doors in all 99 counties in the final days.

Buttigieg just wants to land his message: That he believes he can defeat President Donald Trump, that he is better positioned to do that than his opponents. In recent days, he has called out former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

“It is in order to win, as well as in order to lead, that we have to be ready to leave the politics of the past in the past,” he told an audience on Friday in Davenport. “And build a new politics that is defined by belonging, by boldness and by action. That’s what this campaign is about.”

Biden, Sanders and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have all polled well in the state, and many have extensive campaign operations that could help them on caucus night.

Debbie MrKvicka and her husband saw Buttigieg on Saturday in Cedar Rapids. She decided to caucus for him after seeing him in early December in Mount Vernon. Since then, she’s done relational outreach to her family and friends, and she plans to be a precinct leader on caucus night. MrKvicka wouldn’t entertain the idea that Buttigieg could do poorly on caucus night.

“I am thinking, he’s got this,” she said. “That’s how I truly feel in my heart.”

Amy Condon saw Buttigieg on Friday in Davenport. The 35-year-old speech language pathologist was undecided between Buttigieg, Biden and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She has concerns about Buttigieg’s electability.

“I think he has a great personality. I think he would do well working with the Republicans. I’m a little bit nervous about the inexperience aspect of him,” Condon said as she held an infant daughter. “So that’s, again, where I kind of need to be sold on who to pick on Monday.”

It could come down to people who are undecided. Just 40% of likely Democratic caucusgoers said their mind is made up about which candidate to support on caucus night, according to a Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll released in early January.

Jason Gearhart was one of them. He saw Buttigieg in Oelwein on Saturday, and the 45-year-old said afterward his mind still wasn't made up.

But that changed mid-sentence. Gearhart said he had decided on the spot to caucus for Buttigieg.

“A year ago, no one knew who Mayor Pete was, and now he’s on the cusp of possibly winning the Iowa caucuses,” Gearhart said. “It’s kind of a story of an underdog.”

Barbara Rodriguez covers health care and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8011. Follow her on Twitter @bcrodriguez.

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