Black people don’t like Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary of Transportation.
Still, you might think, black people really don’t like David Duke, former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard. Mostly true. But Duke, by some measures, is more popular with black voters than is Buttigieg. (RELATED: Pete Buttigieg Admits Democratic Party Failed To Win Over Low-Income Voters In 2024)
Duke launched his Senate bid from Louisiana in 2016. It would be his third failed attempt at becoming a U.S. Senator. Duke also mounted two presidential runs, both of which (obviously) failed.
Duke received a favorable rating from about 16 percent of black respondents, according to a statewide survey of Louisiana likely voters conducted on July 27-28, 2016. The University of New Orleans polled 614 respondents, yielding a margin of error of 3.95 percent. More blacks than whites favored Duke, at 16 to 14 percent. No more than 19 percent of any group polled had a favorable view of the candidate.
Remember when Pete Buttigieg drank a Colt 45 out of a brown bag to try and get the Black vote?
Hard to forget. Cringe. Didn’t work. pic.twitter.com/4i6BmkVMZh
— Joey Mannarino 🇺🇸 (@JoeyMannarino) June 4, 2025
About 14 percent of black respondents said they would cast their vote for Duke in the then-upcoming Senate primary, according to the poll. Duke would receive about 3% of the overall vote in the primary, according to Ballotpedia.
Flash forward to fall 2025.
One of the stronger Black crosstabs for Buttigieg that I’ve seen in polling recently, per @YalePolling. pic.twitter.com/i8HRbNbIh5
— Zachary Donnini (@ZacharyDonnini) December 8, 2025
The Yale Youth Poll asked 3,426 registered voters, “If the 2028 Democratic presidential primary were held today, and these were the candidates, which candidate would you vote for?” Options included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris. (RELATED: If You Think Tim Walz Was Bad, Just Look At Kamala’s First Choice)
Buttigieg nabbed 4 percent of the black vote. He performed better among whites, securing 17 percent of the white vote in a hypothetical primary.
The Yale Youth poll reported a margin of error of plus or minus 1.7 percentage points for the full sample. Granted, the Yale Youth poll didn’t query respondents on their feelings towards Duke, who would probably perform poorly in a Democratic primary.
Poor Pete. Somehow, drinking alcohol out of a brown paper bag didn’t do much to ingratiate him with black voters.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC
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