Pete Buttigieg has a theory for how Democrats can win | On the Road

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Pete Buttigieg** (0:30)
There's a risk that there's a kind of unspoken Democratic assumption that we're trying to take us back to, I don't know what, is it 2012, is it 1992, is it 2021, whatever it is. We can't go there, we shouldn't try, we shouldn't want to.

**Jonathan Martin** (0:46)
Today we're in Traverse City, Michigan, up north.
A place known for its crystal blue water, small town charm, but it's here and I'm sitting down for lunch with Pete Buttigieg, from Mayor of South Bend, Indiana to breakout candidate for president in 2020, the cabinet secretary. He's become one of the Democratic Party's most influential voices. We're going to talk to Pete about where Democrats go next and whether or not he's fit for this moment, or maybe he's reflective of a different, less polarized era. And because no trip to Traverse City is complete without it, we're going to wrap with what else? A scoop of that famous cherry ice cream. This is Jonathan Martin up north, Traverse City, Michigan, enjoying the good life with some of my new friends. And thank you for all you do to make the Michigan economy what it is. You are doing your part. You don't even know it.
Mr. Mayor, Secretary, Pete. How are you, Ben? Good to see you.

**Pete Buttigieg** (1:50)
Welcome back up north.

**Jonathan Martin** (1:50)
Have a seat. Good to be here. Pure Michigan.

**Pete Buttigieg** (1:53)
Absolutely.

**Jonathan Martin** (1:54)
This is fantastic. You, by the way, didn't pick the place. We picked the place, but yet there's a boat behind us that's got a Pete story.

**Pete Buttigieg** (2:01)
Right.
So this is home to one of the six maritime academies, the only one that's freshwater. And it's a US Department of Transportation asset. The State of Michigan is a training ship. And then we donated, the Department of Transportation donated the tugboat that was working in the St. Lawrence Seaway to come here for training purposes. So the Robinson Bay now lives here alongside the State of Michigan. She's out in the bay almost every day, so you're on some kind of training ship.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:26)
This is peak Michigan, peak DOT nerd stuff. This is fantastic though. So a son, a Hoosier here in the Mitten State, we're here on the banks, you can see at the Grand Traverse Bay.
You couldn't put this in a bottle and make it any more pure Michigan. This is a great spot. And Pete, I hope that you brought your ballot with you, because I told your folks, make sure he brings out, his filled out Michigan primary ballot.

**SPEAKER_1** (2:51)
I know you're a Michigan voter here.

**Pete Buttigieg** (2:52)
Get a good shot of that.

**Jonathan Martin** (2:53)
So we get the full tight shot of who you're picking. But in all seriousness, this is going to be one of the marquee races in the country, the Senate race here.

**Pete Buttigieg** (3:01)
Yeah.

**Jonathan Martin** (3:02)
Have you decided yet who you're voting for?

**Pete Buttigieg** (3:04)
So I'm going to keep that in the ballot box.

**Jonathan Martin** (3:07)
Oh my gosh.

**Pete Buttigieg** (3:08)
Because I'll tell you what, it is important to me that I play a good role in helping the party come together. We're one of those states that got an unusually late primary, right? I came up with spring primaries in Indiana, it's May.
I got used to that. We're one of those states with a very late primary. Obviously, it's a very spirited primary, right? Which means you got just a few weeks to get everybody on the same page. I want to be part of that. So the less I run my mouth about how I'm going to vote, the better role I can play afterwards and bring everybody together.

**Jonathan Martin** (3:36)
But it sounds like you have decided you still want to say. Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, okay.
Is it just me or is this race like a continuation of the decade-long Bernie versus Hillary primary? Are you guys ever going to get rid of that primary dynamic?

**Pete Buttigieg** (3:49)
I mean, look, that's always there. There's always going to be some flavor of that. That's not just since Bernie versus Hillary, but it's before Bernie versus Hillary too. I mean, I think the only big difference is there were some seasons where that dynamic was playing out within the party. I mean, I remember Bill Bradley, right? Sure. But also, sometimes then it kind of pulls all the way outside the party because I remember Ralph Nader.