MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Saturday, Chasten Buttigieg, husband of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, visited the Upper Peninsula in support of the Harris-Walz campaign.
Buttigieg made stops in Houghton, Baraga, and Marquette, speaking with canvassers as they prepared to go door to door for Kamala Harris.
“I know what it’s like to live in a space where it feels like you were ignored,” he told WZMQ 19 at the Marquette County Democratic Headquarters. “I really wanted to make sure that the campaign was covering some ground in the U.P., where I spent my childhood in Baraga. It’s also really important to come out to events and talk to the people who are having the hard conversations on the doors.”
Buttigieg said those conversations are the key to making political change on a personal level.
He told canvassers, “Right now is the time to find the courage to look your aunt or your uncle or your brother or your cousin—maybe even your spouse—in the eye and tell them, ‘There’s a lot at stake, and I believe that we stand to gain something and we stand to lose something based on the decision that we make.'”
For Buttigieg, some crucial topics of conversation include LGBTQ+ rights, access to affordable healthcare, and climate change. In talking with U.P. voters, he found that their top concerns aren’t necessarily the ones most hotly debated on social media.
“They’re talking about prescription drugs, healthcare, housing, and climate—protecting our natural resources, our water—the right to join a union and get a good day’s wage for a hard day’s work,” he said. “Those are real issues around our kitchen table every night, right? Not whatever culture war is being drummed up on Twitter today, but how politics is actually going to affect their personal, day-to-day lives.”
Buttigieg believes the Harris-Walz ticket is the best choice for voters looking to make the future brighter for young people, particularly when it comes to civil rights and education.
“As a father of a daughter who cares very much about her rights, I want to make sure that she has more rights than our generation, than her grandmother’s generation,” said Buttigieg. “Donald Trump, just the other day, talked about how he wants to gut the Department of Education. As a former teacher, I care very much about the future, not only of education but of all kids in this country. “
As he sent the group out to begin canvassing, Buttigieg urged them to be “courageous” and make a difference by speaking up about what they believe in.
“I really believe it’s down to a campaign of the heart,” he said. “With just a few days to go, it’s really about reaching out to people in your life, making sure they have a voting plan, but making sure they also know that folks out here are fighting for them. Democrats are out here fighting for them, and we could really use their vote right now.”
Buttigieg encourages voters to set a schedule a date and time to cast their ballots, whether in person or absentee, during the early voting period, or on Election Day.
