Pete Buttigieg is wooing voters of color as he looks to show he can repeat his strong finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire in states that more closely mirror the country’s diversity.
Buttigieg told a largely African American audience at a luncheon for the Nevada Legislative Black Caucus on Sunday that he worked with black leaders of South Bend, Indiana, to deliver affordable housing and improve the black unemployment rate.
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The former mayor has faced criticism for the racial disparity in marijuana arrests in South Bend and decisions that led him to have no African American leaders in his administration during a crucial stretch of his tenure. More than a quarter of South Bend residents are black.
Asked at a rally earlier Sunday to name a mistake he’d made in office, Buttigieg said he failed to recognize the pain that his decisions caused, particularly for communities of color. He campaigned much of Sunday with African American comedian Keegan-Michael Key.