{"id":22625,"date":"2026-05-13T10:02:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/buttigieg-picks-sides-in-iowa\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T10:02:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T10:02:38","slug":"buttigieg-picks-sides-in-iowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/buttigieg-picks-sides-in-iowa\/","title":{"rendered":"Buttigieg picks sides in Iowa"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Pete Buttigieg is picking sides in a heated Senate Democratic primary in the state that cemented his national political profile.<\/p>\n

Buttigieg, who won the Iowa Democratic caucuses in 2020, is backing state Rep. Josh Turek \u2014 a move that shows his willingness to wade into contested primaries ahead of another possible presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

The endorsement comes shortly after Buttigieg\u2019s former 2020 rival, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, visited earlier this week to campaign for Turek\u2019s opponent, state Sen. Zach Wahls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made history in Iowa in 2020 because our campaign went everywhere,\u201d Buttigieg said in a statement shared first with Blue Light News. \u201cWe connected with people in rural towns and the largest cities, focused on the issues that affect everyday life, and brought Democrats, Independents, and even Republicans into the fold. Josh Turek has taken that same proven approach to his campaign, and that\u2019s why I know he will be successful. I believe Iowa can make history again in 2026 by sending Josh to the U.S. Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buttigieg\u2019s decision to pick sides in the once-early nominating state is a reversal for him. In March, he told Blue Light News it was \u201cnot in my plans\u201d when asked whether he would endorse in sharply contested primaries in his adopted home state of Michigan or in Iowa. And while it could help elevate Turek \u2014 and potentially give Buttigieg a valuable ally if he runs in 2028 \u2014 it carries some risk of alienating Wahls\u2019 supporters in the hard-fought contest.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a shock, however. Turek\u2019s campaign in Iowa marks something of a reunion for Buttigieg\u2019s 2020 campaign operation: his former national press secretary Chris Meagher is a Turek adviser, while Buttigieg\u2019s former senior adviser Lis Smith and former aide Matt Corridoni are both advisers to The Bench, a new political group that\u2019s been choosing sides in other Democratic primaries.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear whether Iowa will have anywhere near the outsized role it historically held in the Democratic nomination process next time around. A calamitous caucus-night vote count and app breakdown played a role in Democrats bumping Iowa from the front of the primary line in 2024. Iowa Democrats are trying to get back in the first four states<\/a>, along with a bevy of other states. Democrats are expected to choose their nominating order later this year.<\/p>\n

Buttigieg joins Sens. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire in Turek\u2019s corner \u2014 as well as former Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the last Democrat to represent the state in the Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply honored to have Pete\u2019s support in this race,\u201d Turek said in a statement. \u201cHis unique ability to connect with Iowans who feel forgotten and left behind is exactly why he won the caucuses in 2020, and it\u2019s that same approach that will help us win Senator Harkin\u2019s seat back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pete Buttigieg is picking sides in a heated Senate Democratic primary in the state that cemented his national political profile. Buttigieg, who won the Iowa Democratic caucuses in 2020, is backing state Rep. Josh Turek \u2014 a move that shows his willingness to wade into contested primaries ahead of another possible presidential campaign. The endorsement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}