Pete Buttigieg Uses Essence Festival to Start His Rehab with Black Voters
NEW ORLEANS—Pete Buttigieg entered the 25th annual Essence Fest Sunday morning with nothing to lose. Polls show the South Bend mayor with little to no support among black voters and his handling of a recent police shooting has had him on the defensive for weeks while his rival—several of whom appeared at Essence on Saturday—have been building momentum.
Which is why on a brutally sweltering day he found himself in a dark suit and tie, walking into the New Orleans Convention Center to do a set as Tyler Perry’s warm up act.
On his way in, Buttigieg stopped to chat with the two black women who manned his campaign table outside the Power Stage, where a panel of helping formerly incarcerated black women reenter society was just wrapping up. A handful of older black women spotted Buttigieg, and queued up for photos, smiling broadly and chatting with the young mayor.