Buttigieg says the 2024 election is an opportunity for a ‘more normal’ political life

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks at a rally for Michigan state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, in Midland, Mich., on Nov. 2, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is no stranger to campaigning on tough turf, having developed what he called an “unexpected specialty” for appearing on Fox News.

That strategy brought him to Midland on Saturday for a rally with state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Bay City), who is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Flint) when he retires at the end of his term.

Midland has traditionally been considered a Republican stronghold, causing concern for some Democrats when Michigan lost a seat in the redistricting process, causing Kildee’s district to expand to include the city.

McDonald Rivet and Junge face off for open Michigan seat that’s key to US House control

Kildee managed to win reelection in 2022, defeating Republican businessman Paul Junge, who had previously run against U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly), but Kildee’s margin of victory was the slimmest it had been across his six campaigns for the seat.

“When we came here a few years ago and said I think we can win this congressional district, Midland was right in the middle of that conversation and right in the middle of that argument, and you delivered the margin that sent me to Congress,” Kildee said.

With Kildee retiring, Junge decided to make a third run for the U.S. House — a move McDonald Rivet said will be a “mistake” — the same characterization she used for his decision to move into both Slotkin’s and Kildee’s districts prior to launching his campaigns.

The 8th District is a key battleground seat in the fight to control the U.S. House. Republicans currently hold a slim majority.

Junge campaigned with U.S. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) on Thursday at Saginaw Control & Engineering, along with U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Midland) and Tim Walberg (R-Adrian).

“Just like President Trump, @VotePaulJunge is a business owner and political outsider that we need in Washington,” Emmer wrote on social media on Friday. “Together, we will unleash the economy in Michigan, Minnesota, and across the country.”

Junge said on Saturday that it will be his “honor to share the stage” with former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, at his Flint rally on Monday, the day before Election Day.

Kildee said that it only took him  a “millisecond” to know who he wanted to succeed him once he made the decision to not seek reelection, citing in part that McDonald Rivet flipped her seat in the state Senate from red to blue.

“I saw her as a reflection of the goodness of the people of the state of Michigan,” Kildee said. “She’s one of us, unlike that imposter who is running against her.”

McDonald Rivet said that Midland’s potentially shifting trends could be seen just in the years since she started running for state senate, pointing out the size of the crowd at her rally with Buttigieg.

“When I first started running in Midland, people were whispering to me that they were Democrats. ‘Don’t tell my neighbors,’” McDonald Rivet said. “Look at you all now.”

But Buttigieg — the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., who now lives in Traverse City — said that most neighbors agree with each other, regardless of party lines, if you get to the root of issues.

“Not just true blue Democrats, but independents and an awful lot of Republicans get that we need to be investing in education,” Buttigieg said. “Our neighbors already get that if you want to keep the next generation safe, that’s not about stopping a politically unpopular book from making its way into the school library, it’s about stopping assault weapons from getting anywhere near the school grounds.”

“Don’t let anybody tell you that we’re in some minority of public opinion,” Buttigieg said. “But here’s the thing: Just because you win the policy argument doesn’t mean you get to win the election. That’s the tricky part.”

For conservatives who may be on the fence, Buttigieg said he believes they can be won over by meeting them where they are.

“I believe we can talk to conservatives who care about law and order, about the fact that crime actually went down after Donald Trump got beat, and that a good way to restore the rule of law in this country might be to elect a career prosecutor who put transnational gangs behind bars instead of the first convicted felon ever to run for U.S. president,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg said that while Trump spent his presidency promising a major infrastructure bill, Biden actually delivered, which is why lead pipes are being replaced, more communities are being connected to broadband and manufacturing and construction jobs are growing at a rate that Buttigieg said hasn’t been seen since before he was born.

While Buttigieg was speaking at the rally in his personal capacity, Kildee said that the transportation secretary had called him a few days prior to announce $27 million in funding for rail projects in the area.

Buttigieg criticized House Speaker Mike Johnson for saying that Republicans would “probably” try to repeal the CHIPS Act if they regain control of the U.S. House.

“This is not some high school Model Congress, this is the United States Congress. They write laws that the rest of us have to live by,” Buttigieg said. “We need sober, straightforward, community-minded leadership in there, not extremists.”

Beyond delivering different policy results, Buttigieg said the election can also be an opportunity to spend less time thinking about politics.

“A vote for the right kind of leaders … is, among other things, a vote to get politics out of our face for a little while,” Buttigieg said. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a more normal political life in this country? Wouldn’t it be nice if the news wasn’t punching you in the face every time you turn on the TV? We could have politics on the back burner at least some of the time, but only if we have the right leaders.”