State Rep. Deborah Ferguson (D-West Memphis) and former state Rep. Clarke Tucker, who’s running for state Senate, have endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president ahead of the March 3 presidential primary in Arkansas.

“Pete embodies everything we should look for in a president,” Ferguson said in a statement. “He is a veteran, intelligent, and an eloquent speaker. He is well-versed on the issues that are important to moving this country forward.”

Tucker, who went to Harvard with Buttigieg and has been friends with him for 20 years, admitted that it was hard for him to be objective. “But at the same time, I think he’s the exact same person today as when I met first him 20 years ago. He just has a gift for having a visionary perspective on things. He’s able to see the big picture in a way that I think it makes it possible to articulate a vision that’s inspirational and creates the possibility for real change.

Buttigieg has been derided by some on the left for being too moderate. Tucker said he thought people get too caught up in those sort of labels.


“I really think that the most important thing is to have a candidate who can appeal to all different kinds of people and can inspire them to get out and vote and then move the country in that direction when they’re president. I think Pete meets that description.

“When I first got to know Peter in college, he was critical of the Democratic Party because it seemed like the Democratic leaders in Washington were just against what the Republicans were talking about, or they were for a lighter version of it. They wanted a tax cut, just not George W. Bush’s tax cut, or they wanted a war in the Middle East, just not the war George W. Bush wanted. I can’t help but get a little entertainment value out of the fact that now people are accusing him of not being bold enough. But I think a lot of the issues he’s talking about from climate change to democratic reform to health care and everything in between, they’re a very important and bold direction for the country.


“When the Trump presidency is over, we’re going to have some work to do as a country just to try to bring ourselves back together again. He’s in a really strong position to be able to do that work.”

Another Arkansas connection to Buttigieg? Politico Jessica DeLoach Sabin, a longtime Little Rock resident, is a member of his campaign, working closely with Pete Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg.