(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg may as well bid farewell to his presidential aspirations, with a new poll showing him at zero percent among black voters.
Before joining the Biden administration, Buttigieg was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and had mounted an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2020.
The grim numbers, released by Emerson College on Aug. 29, come just months before Democrats could unofficially kick off the 2028 presidential primary.
An earlier survey also showed Buttigieg at zero percent support among black voters, according to MassLive.com.
🚨New: Pete Buttigieg has 0% support Among black Voters for 2028 via the new Emerson Poll pic.twitter.com/pcUqsK0JbH
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) September 4, 2025
The figures are puzzling, given that Buttigieg spent much of his tenure as transportation secretary pandering to the woke left by highlighting infrastructure he and the Biden administration labeled racist.
In June 2021, Buttigieg claimed certain street designs were deliberately built to create obstacles for minorities.
A year later, he launched a $1 billion pilot program to promote “racial equity” in infrastructure.
“Transportation can connect us to jobs, services and loved ones, but we’ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built,” Buttigieg said.
He claimed the program was “forward-looking” and meant to fix the alleged issue rather than blame past governments.
“It’s about mending what has been broken, especially when the damage was done with taxpayer dollars,” he added.
Pete Buttigieg was focused on combating racist infrastructure.@SecDuffy is focused on modernizing our nation's air traffic control system to make air travel great again.
The Trump Administration is taking action where the Biden Administration refused! pic.twitter.com/n8Soup5Qyo
— Jim Banks (@Jim_Banks) May 10, 2025
The pilot program doesn’t seem to have paid off, as Buttigieg’s efforts to court black voters have failed to move the needle in polling.
The August Emerson poll shows California Gov. Gavin Newsom as Democrats’ top choice ahead of the primary.
Newsom drew 25 percent of Democratic voters, while Buttigieg received just 16 percent—the same number he had a month earlier.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris placed third with only 11 percent.
HOLY: Pete Buttigieg blew $1 BILLION trying to make roads and bridges “less racist” — even floated ripping out ENTIRE freeways.
Sean Duffy says his predecessor “saw racism around every single corner.”
Miranda Devine asked the new Transportation Secretary about Buttigieg’s… pic.twitter.com/cyogb9k9v1
— Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) August 13, 2025
