Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses are a week from today (Monday), and candidates seeking the Democratic presidential nomination are making their final pushes to reach voters in the brief time that remains. On Saturday night, former South Bend, Ind. Mayor, Pete Buttigieg, hosted a town hall meeting in Carroll. About 20 minutes into the event, he opened the floor to questions from the more than 300 attendees. Pastor at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cindy Johnson, asked about the role faith plays in his policies. Buttigieg, a Christian, says Democrats have shied away from talking about religion out of respect to the separation of church and state, but this does not preclude it from being a part of his decision-making.
Discussion then shifted to infrastructure, specifically in rural communities. The mayor of Britt in northern Iowa, Ryan Amdorfer, says his small town is set to spend over $20 million in the next five years on mandated water plant improvements, resulting in increases to utility costs. Buttigieg is proposing a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure, which he says will create jobs, repair the nation’s aging bridges and roads, and help fund improvements like the ones in Britt.
One of the final questions of the night came from a fifth-year teacher concerned about school safety. According to Buttigieg, many of the issues stem from the mental health system, and reforms are needed. He adds part of the answer is implementing restrictions on who has access to firearms.
The latest polling average from Real Clear Politics shows Buttigieg at 17 percent in Iowa. Vermont Senator, Bernie Sanders, is currently leading with 25 percent, followed by former Vice President, Joe Biden, at 22 percent. Full audio from Saturday’s town hall can be found included with this story on our website.
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