In the shell of the shuttered Radio Shack in the Monadnock Plaza on Jaffrey Road in Peterborough Sunday night, Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s New Hampshire campaign opened its 15th office in the Granite State.
Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was otherwise engaged Sunday night in Iowa where his Fox News town hall was about to begin so he sent surrogates to speak on his behalf and rally the troops, so to speak, for phone and door-to-door canvassing.
Hartford, Connecticut Mayor Luke Bronin spoke to the crowd in Peterborough telling them he has know Buttigieg for many years, like him also served in the Navy and in Afghanistan, and that Buttigieg has the support of many mayor’s across the country.
“I really believe he is the right guy,” he said, adding he is thrilled to be in New Hampshire this week campaigning for Buttigieg.
“It’s great to see this room packed,” Bronin told the crowd of more than 80 people. “These 16 days are going to decide not just what happens in this primary, but I think what happens to our country.”
With only two weeks left to go before the Feb. 11 presidential primary vote, Democratic contenders are pulling out all the stops to win voters in the crucial first in the nation New Hampshire primary. Winning or even placing close to the top in New Hampshire Feb. 11 or in Iowa for the first in the nation caucus on Monday is vital for some of these candidates that need to come out strong with the nation’s first primary voters in order to keep and gain both voters and campaign donors. With the impeachment trial pulling the Senators of the campaign trail and much of the focus on campaigning in Iowa, candidates are sending out their most high profile and celebrity supporters out in force here in the Granite State.
On Saturday, campaign offices for both Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders held events to drum up support from undecided voters and prep and organize volunteers.
Larry Haddock, grandson of Doris “Granny D” Haddock, spoke at a canvass launch at Warren’s Peterborough campaign headquarters on Vose Farm Road, while across town at Sanders’ Peterborough headquarters at Noone Falls, actress and activist Susan Sarandon spoke to canvassers about her own experience canvassing door-to-door in New Hampshire for presidential candidate.
In Buttigieg’s Peterborough campaign headquarters Sunday night Congresswoman Annie Kuster also spoke to voters about her decision to endorse the Midwest mayor, which she did last week in Concord. She also stayed after to speak one-on-one with voters hoping to win as many votes for Buttigieg as she could.
She was joined by Bronin, David Baum of Peterborough and Gary Hirshberg founder of Londonderry-based Stonyfield Farm, the world’s leading organic yogurt producer. The Buttigieg supporters said he has what it takes from his military experience and service to his “temperament.” Buttigieg also has what it takes to run and win against incumbent Republican President Donald Trump, they said.
Bronin said there is a lot at stake with this primary.
“I’ve got three little ones and this is about what kind of America they are going to grow up in … and whether America stays America. … I don’t think we can afford to screw this up,” Bronin said. “I think Pete is the candidate that not only gives us the best chance to win against Donald Trump but gives us the best chance to heal this country and move it forward. … This is two week period that will decide if we can get rid of this current president and get our country back on track.”
Baum said he knows voters have been overwhelmed with choices during this primary season, but urged them to listen to Kuster and Hirshberg on Buttigieg.
Hirshberg said people voted for Trump because they felt the government wasn’t speaking to them. Buttigieg can speak directly to the voters in the critical swing states and win them, he said.
“Mayors don’t have that luxury. … We need somebody who can do what mayors have to do every day, which is bring disparate folks together,” he said. “Have a temperament to listen but also to make decisions.”
Kuster said she agrees with Buttigieg on many issues including his strong stance on taking action against climate change, his Medicare For All Who Want It plan and his Building Power: A Women’s Agenda for the 21st Century.
“When it comes to health care, I’m pro-choice,” she said.
Kuster said the “stakes are so high” in this primary because “our roles are so important.”
“We are making this very important decision on behalf of generations to come and it’s very overwhelming,” Kuster said.
Kuster said before endorsing Buttigieg she had the chance to see most of the candidates up close both in front of voters as well as in private.
“I think his story is very compelling,” she said.
He chose to serve in the military, he speaks about his faith and has a personal story as a gay man who stayed in the closet during the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” military policy. He understands other types of discrimination because of the discrimination he has experienced as a gay man, she said.
“I just want to say, he knows how to walk the walk,” she said.
He also has a very comprehensive climate policy that includes an economic agenda. “It’s about creating economic growth through green energy,” she said.
But ultimately, Buttigieg listens and learns as he goes, which means he has the right temperament for the Oval Office. And he reminds Kuster of President Barack Obama when he was just a primary candidate she endorsed despite people telling her “He’s too young. It’s not his turn. I can’t say his name.”
Kuster said she is now hearing the same of Buttigieg, “He’s too young. It’s not his turn. I can’t say his name.” However, “I saw something different in Barrack Obama and I see that now in Pete Buttigieg. … He’s going to win, but more importantly he’s going to carry the ticket in November.”
On Monday local attorneys Jim Callahan and Michael Atkins were elected delegates for Amy Klobuchar Saturday in Concord, while Heather Stockwell of Dublin was tagged as a delegate for Sanders.