PDA for Mayor Pete: Williams College's John McGovern '21 Analyzes Buttigieg Campaign in NH

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - I'm always supportive of student journalists...even those on the left. John McGovern '21 has written a

solid piece about what Mayor Pete is doing behind the scenes to gain positive attention in the crucial primary state of New Hampshire. As McGovern writes:

A newly-elected state representative endorsed by the New Hampshire Young Democrats, Wilhelm met with over half the Democratic presidential field on the phone or one-on-one in person before declaring his support for Buttigieg last month. He first sat down with Buttigieg at a roundtable with other elected officials in an independent bookstore, where the South Bend Mayor and Afghanistan veteran recognized the first-term state legislator's AmeriCorps lapel pin.

Although he said he was always leaning towards Buttigieg, Wilhelm was not planning to endorse until the fall, after the 2019 municipal elections. That changed when Buttigieg released his national service plan, which Wilhelm highlighted in his introduction at the Dover rally. "The candidate with the best national service plan is totally going to get my vote," he said.

Wilhelm also credited the Buttigieg campaign for engaging local leaders. He noted that Chasten Buttigieg, the husband of the South Bend Mayor, canvassed for Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig last weekend. "This campaign is very eager to share the spotlight," he said, adding that other presidential campaigns sometimes "operate in a national context."

In my view, however, Buttigieg doesn't have a chance against his Democrat primary challengers. He is popular with the large donors and with the academic set, but he doesn't seem very popular with actual voters include black voters and Christian voters who don't seem to care for him.

John McGovern's work on NH politics was apparently made possible by a grant from The Robert G. Wilmers, Jr. 1990 Memorial Student Travel Abroad Fellowship. This program supports substantial academic research projects that require foreign travel. Successful projects will present an ambitious intellectual proposal with clear objectives and a defined research methodology. Sophomores and juniors are eligible.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist and a former Williams College professor. He is an occasional contributor at American Thinker, Breitbart, Front Page, PJMedia and WND.