OSCEOLA, Ia. — On county fairgrounds near some fast-food restaurants, Pete Buttigieg heard the question that highlighted a key point he’s been making to Iowans.

“What qualities or experience do you have that make you the best candidate to win against Trump?” asked a woman seated around the Democratic presidential candidate.

Buttigieg suddenly tried to squeeze in everything he’s campaigned on for months here in Iowa: being a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and how being from the industrial Midwest helps him understand the agricultural community; his faith, and how that’s shaped his compassion for others; his military experience, and how that prepares him for foreign diplomacy; and his potential appeal to Republicans, a group he’s addressed increasingly in conservative areas of the state.

“I’m ready to go toe-to-toe with this president,” Buttigieg said Tuesday to the town hall crowd.

With less than a week until the Iowa caucuses, the 38-year-old Buttigieg is making his closing argument to Iowans by highlighting that not only is he best prepared to defeat Trump, he can also unite a divided country while dealing with issues like climate change, wage inequity and gun violence.

“We’re going to need an awful lot from our president,” Buttigieg said later at a town hall in Indianola. “Yes, to unify and heal the country, but also to do it in a way that moves us forward quickly.”

Buttigieg has been traveling around Iowa nonstop since Saturday, in what his campaign calls “Phase 4” of his organizing strategy here. Buttigieg has increasingly noted the importance of doing well in the first-in-the-nation caucus state to propel his campaign forward into other early voting states.

As Buttigieg seeks an edge in the crowded race for the party’s nomination, he has competition on messaging. In recent days, former Vice President Joe Biden has zeroed in on his ability to compete against Trump. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has tried to showcase her electability. And on radio ads currently playing in the state, billionaire activist Tom Steyer is describing himself as a Washington, D.C., outsider, a similar narrative Buttigieg is pushing.

After a town hall in Ottumwa on Tuesday, reporters asked Buttigieg why he’s right and the others are wrong.

“I don’t think that we’re as likely to succeed if we’re repeating the same political warfare mindset that dominates Washington but frustrates voters, whether it’s here in Iowa or across the country,” Buttigieg said in a YMCA gymnasium. “If we want to win, and if we want to govern, we’ve got to be ready to do something different. And I think the biggest risk we can take is to try to recycle the same old approach.”

Courting Republicans

Buttigieg is also trying to appeal to an unlikely crowd during the primary season: Republicans who may have voted for President Donald Trump in 2016.

The former mayor appeared Sunday in a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, his second of the cycle.

Buttigieg explained his approach at a town hall in Fort Dodge one day before the Fox News appearance.

“Some folks in my party are a little mad at me for doing this,” he said. “And I certainly understand the skepticism about that network. But we shouldn’t be surprised if viewers of that network don’t understand our message if they’ve literally never heard it.”

Buttigieg plans to be in Iowa every day until Monday's caucuses, and he’s packed his schedule with stops in several “pivot” counties that voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 before switching to Trump. Several hundred people have turned out to these events, and the campaign claims they're the largest among his competitors.

Buttigieg told the Des Moines Register on Sunday that he is trying to show likely Democratic caucusgoers that he is best positioned to take on the president in a general election because he can bring in independents and, what he calls, “future former Republicans.” It’s part of why Buttigieg feels good about his chances on Caucus Day despite some of his competitors scoring critical endorsements and faring better in polls in recent days.

“We are turning folks out — not just in the population centers, but in that Obama-Trump country — that, really, I think holds the key to winning the general election,” Buttigieg said. “And we’re doing it without me pretending to be more conservative than I am. So when we see that level of enthusiasm … you can tell that there’s something happening.”

Some Iowans see value in Buttigieg’s approach.

Jerry Stege of Primghar saw Buttigieg on Saturday in Storm Lake. Stege is undecided, but he’s actively considering Buttigieg, Biden and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Stege said he wants to support someone who is “not really far left.” Stege caucused for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in 2016.

The 33-year-old Stege, who is a snowplow driver, said he appreciates Buttigieg’s efforts with Republicans because “it’s very red around here.”

“I don’t think we should polarize these media outlets,” he said. “I don’t think Democrats should strictly stick in the CNN lane and Republicans with Fox News, so I like that he’s branching out.”

Buttigieg’s competitors score wins

Buttigieg’s electability argument comes as some of his top-tier competitors in the race have picked up potentially critical endorsements from newspaper editorial boards, including at Iowa news outlets that represent conservative areas of the state.

Buttigieg campaigned in Iowa on the same day that the Des Moines Register's editorial board, which is separate from the news gathering side of the news outlet, endorsed Warren. The Sioux City Journal's editorial board, which is also separate from its newsroom, endorsed Biden.

Reporters on Saturday asked Buttigieg if he was concerned about his competitors racking up editorial endorsements.

“At the end of the day, the endorsements that are going to matter the most come one at a time, and it’s the caucusgoers who are going to decide this in just over a week,” he said.

Andrew Bouma, a 36-year-old cook, saw Buttigieg on Saturday in Carroll, just as news broke about the Biden endorsement. Bouma said he had just made his decision to caucus for Buttigieg after the town hall, and the endorsements wouldn’t sway his plans.

“He represents a sanity,” Bouma said. “… He’s very articulate and can express his ideas better than any of the other candidates I’ve seen.”

National polls in recent days also show a surge of support for Sanders. Buttigieg’s campaign responded by sending fundraising emails that warned: “Nominating Bernie Sanders is a risk we can’t take.”

Addressing black voter support, campaign personnel issues

During a town hall in Ottumwa on Tuesday, reporters asked Buttigieg several questions about recent reports in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that highlighted personnel concerns from staffers that people of color on his campaign have felt undervalued.

Buttigieg said his campaign has been addressing those concerns and he takes them seriously.

"We've got to work much harder to do a better job, when it comes to making sure that that inclusion is a reality, especially in the Trump era," he said. "And this is an opportunity to live those values and, if there are challenges along the way, that's just a reminder of why it's so important."

The questions come as national polls continue to show Buttigieg has low support among black voters. This is also true for most of the Democratic candidates running for president, but the narrative has followed Buttigieg for months. In recent days, moderators in Iowa have asked him about it, showcasing a potential effect on his electability argument.

Buttigieg, who has the endorsement of several black leaders in Iowa, has brought up racial inequality throughout his campaign, including in front of white crowds in Iowa, by highlighting a multi-layered policy plan aimed at helping black Americans in different areas.

Lois Schultz, a 72-year-old retiree, was thinking about Buttigieg’s low support among African Americans as she entered Tuesday's town hall in Indianola. She was undecided, but left ready to caucus for Buttigieg. She said she got teary-eyed listening to Buttigieg.

“He is authentic,” she said. “He’s got this quality that you just can’t describe. It brings people along.”

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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