Michiana voters comment on Mayor Pete’s work in South Bend, campaign trail
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SOUTH BEND, Ind.—Michiana voters have a lot of thoughts ahead of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s appearance on the national Democratic presidential debate stage on Thursday night.
Mayor Pete has faced multiple issues at home in recent weeks. Gun violence in the city and the recent, fatal, officer-involved shooting have some people in South Bend asking tough questions about his ability to lead the country.
In South Bend, voters seem to be more worried about how Mayor Pete is handling issues at home rather than his campaign business.
“As far as the Mayor being in Miami for the debate, I mean this is the nature of politics. He’s a Mayor, he’s outgoing, he’s running for president,” said Joe Jones, a South Bend resident.
Mayor Pete recently put his campaigning on hold to deal with a homegrown crisis following an officer-involved shooting in South Bend that has left many Michiana voters satisfied.
“I mean, I can stand up and say that maybe he’s taking away from his being Mayor, but if things are running properly then there are people that are supposed to be behind him that pick up the slack,” Jones said.
While Michiana voters say they will tune in for the debate on Thursday night, they’re more worried about how he’s going to continue handling problems in South Bend.
“As far as what’s going on in the city and combined with his run for democratic nomination, I, you know, don’t think it’s really taking away from what he’s doing here at the city,” South Bend resident John Winston Jr. said. “He’s shown that he’s willing to come back and handle situations and he’s been here quite often, too, so he’s going to have critics, he’s going to have supporters, so you know you can’t satisfy everybody but I think he’s doing the job that everybody elected him to do to this point.”
Voters are also wondering if the issues at home will come up in questions for Mayor Pete during the debate tonight.
The town hall that Mayor Pete hosted on June 23 was watched across the country. Voters in Miami are saying they believe the presidential hopeful has some work to do at home.