Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:27 am
Pete Buttigieg is an unusual presidential candidate with an unusual name. And according to a new report, he has been generating more social media interest than any other actual or potential 2020 Democratic candidate.
Even though most people don’t know how to properly pronounce his last name, the 37 year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana (who is gay) has been taking the political world by storm ever since he announced his 2020 candidacy.
Axios, reporting on data compiled by NewsWhip, a social media company, reported early Tuesday that Buttigieg’s Twitter following has grown by 447,000 followers since he appeared on CNN at a town hall meeting in March. Another announced 2020 candidate, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) had the second-biggest jump in social media interest during the same period, adding 137,000 Twitter followers.
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Buttigieg now has 640,000 followers on Twitter while O’Rourke has about 1.4. Million followers
According to Axios, Buttigieg also had more people engaged on his Twitter account than any of the other 2020 candidates during same period, except O’Rourke. Buttigieg also added 90,000 followers to his Instagram account and 75,000 followers to his Facebook account since his March 10 town hall, which is more than any of his other potential 2020 competitors aside from O’Rourke, the Axios noted.
According to recent data released by Google, Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to officially announce his White House bid, are the most-searched potential 2020 Democratic candidates.
In the past week alone, Biden has seen a 100-percent increase in search interest, while Buttigieg saw a spike of 35 percent.
Buttigieg also recently disclosed his first quarter fundraising numbers and astounded the political world by reporting over $7 million in contributions.
It seems that this unconventional young man may be offering America something it needs right now. Clearly many potential Democratic primary voters are enamored with Buttigieg and what he has to say.
Time will tell if he has staying power, but as of right now Pete Buttigieg is a rising star in the Democratic Party. Move over Beto, it looks like Pete may be coming for you — and all the other so-called “old†candidates he is facing for the Democratic nomination next year.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
