Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is widely seen as a Democratic Party presidential contender, is suffering from a stunning lack of support among a key voting block that could doom his campaign before it ever truly gets off the ground.
According to a new poll released Friday from Emerson College, Buttigieg is the most preferable option for Democratic Primary voters ahead of the next presidential election.
While projecting the field is notoriously hard to do this far out from a race, the former South Bend mayor has received significant support in a number of prior surveys as well.
According to the Emerson College poll, 16 percent of Democratic Primary voters indicated that they plan to support Buttigieg, giving him the strongest support among any candidates listed. This includes former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was favored by 13 percent of respondents.
California Governor Gavin Newsom trailed close behind at 12 percent, followed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, both of whom polled at seven percent each.
The survey provided a notable snag for Buttigieg’s presidential ambitions, however, as his polling among black respondents stood at an astonishing zero percent. Poor support among black voters