Campaign

Biden receives endorsement from South Bend city leader

by Rachel Frazin - 11/22/19 2:15 PM ET

A leader from South Bend, Ind. — White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg’s hometown — has endorsed the mayor’s 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

South Bend Common Council member Oliver Davis endorsed Biden’s candidacy Friday, according to a statement from Biden’s campaign.

“In times like these, when the political winds are fiercely blowing across our country, it’s important for us to have an experienced leader who has been through the diverse storms of life to guide our country,” Davis said in the statement. “That’s why I am very pleased to support Vice President Joe Biden to be our next President of the United States of America.”

The campaign noted that Biden has received support from more than 600 national, state and local leaders across the country, and that Davis is the third African American elected official from Indiana to throw his support behind the former vice president.

The endorsement comes as Buttigieg’s campaign has seen a bit of momentum, particularly in the early caucus state of Iowa. Buttigieg, however, has struggled to gain support from black voters.

Davis told Politico that the mayor’s failure to gain support from communities of color “is not a new problem for him.”

“For us, this has been a consistent issue that has not gone away,” Davis said.

Politico noted that Davis ran to replace Buttigieg as South Bend’s mayor this year, but lost in the Democratic primary to Buttigieg’s preferred candidate James Mueller.

“Councilman Davis, I respect him a lot, we’ve definitely disagreed on politics a great deal, not to take you into the whole story of South Bend politics, but you know, I respect him coming from a different place politically,” Buttigieg told CNN.

“Obviously no one person speaks for black voters in South Bend,” he added.

Updated: 7:44 p.m.