Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg ran a historic campaign. Whether you agree with his policies or not, it is remarkable that a gay mayor of a town in Indiana with an estimated population of a little over 100,000 residents was able to catapult himself into national recognition and even, at least according to the state Democratic party, win the Iowa Caucuses.
"By every conventional wisdom, by every historical measure, we were never supposed to get anywhere at all,” he told supporters Sunday in South Bend.
However, after a disappointing finish in South Carolina and not enough steam headed into Super Tuesday, Buttigieg announced he was dropping out of the race Sunday. Still, with high name recognition and a strong base of supporters, Buttigieg has the capability to remain an important public figure in Democratic politics beyond his failed presidential run. The question is, what should he do?
Unfortunately, Indiana politics is pretty much out of the question for the former mayor. His old position as mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is already filled by James Mueller, both the races for his home congressional district, IN-02, and governor are rated as likely Republican for 2020, and even if he wanted to take the risk and run, the deadline to file for the Indiana primary already passed.
He should set his sights on a national role.
Buttigieg endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday, alongside fellow recent dropout Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. This move is more than an olive branch to the Biden campaign. It seems clear that Buttigieg wants a cabinet position in a potential Biden administration.
A role as the Secretary of Defense might suit Buttigieg. A former naval intelligence officer, he leaned extensively on his time in the military during his run. As someone who speaks extensively of the “values that were encoded in the flag that was on my shoulder when I was deployed overseas,” working in the Defense Department would offer Buttigieg the opportunity to further develop those self-purported values.
Yet criticism remains about Buttigieg’s leadership experience. The right-leaning National Review described him touting his military credentials as “hollow” and his work within the military as “apple-polishing, résumé-buffing, box-checking, attention-seeking vaporware.”
Buttigieg needs to demonstrate his military knowledge and defend his overall military experience if he wants to convince the Senate that he is the right fit for the position come confirmation time.
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is another floatable position for Buttigieg. As mayor of South Bend, his fiercest supporters claim he revitalized the dying industrial town, with Curbed calling it "good urbanism." This included turning vacant lots and homes into new development projects and a $25 million “Smart Streets” plan, where he reshaped the downtown area with new streetscapes and pedestrian areas. A role as HUD Secretary would give Buttigieg the opportunity to encourage similar policies on a larger scale.
However, many community members of South Bend have pushed back against the changes Buttigieg enacted as mayor, with many accusing Buttigieg of gentrifying South Bend. An IndyStar article describes how this is especially prevalent in the neighborhoods near Notre Dame.
Predominantly minority subdivisions in the town have consistently been replaced by upscale homes and businesses largely owned by white people, according to the article.
“Ain’t shit changed,” Shawn White, a black 24-year-old from the west side of South Bend, told CNBC. Buttigieg needs to answer to his constituents and defend his record as mayor if he wants to prove he's capable of running an entire national department.
These are just two positions of many potential spots for Buttigieg in a Biden administration. With his youth, however, comes a relative lack of experience, so Buttigieg doesn't have a long record to lean on when his shortcomings are brought up.
Regardless, he'd better hope that Joe Biden wins the presidential nomination — and then wins the presidency. If Biden loses, Buttigieg will most likely have go back into the private sector as his political career goes silent for the next several years.
Of course, nothing is off the table. Biden might not find Buttigieg suitable for any position in a potential administration. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., might win the nomination and presidency and find a place for Buttigieg in his White House. Buttigieg might go the way of Andrew Yang and become a television political commentator.
One thing's for certain: At 38 years young, Buttigieg has a lot of time left to work his way back up the Democratic Party.
Maximilian Sandefer (he/him) is a sophomore studying Spanish and political science. He is currently a legislative intern on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
