CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he is campaigning for a set of values, not for a return to political office, as he stumped in Iowa this week — even as his return to public-facing events has sparked speculation about a 2028 presidential run.
“Right now, I’m not running for anything,” he told reporters following an event that organizers said drew about 1,800 people in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, May 13. “And part of what’s exciting and compelling about an opportunity like this is to be campaigning for values and for ideas, rather than a specific electoral campaign.”
It was a homecoming of sorts for Buttigieg, who traveled extensively in Iowa over the course of his 2020 presidential primary campaign, rising from an unknown Indiana mayor to top-tier presidential contender.
“It feels really good to be back in Iowa,” he said to cheers. “Anyone can come to Iowa just before an election is coming up, I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk with the people I got to know five or six years ago and people I’m seeing for the very first time.”
The town hall was hosted by the progressive veterans organization, VoteVets Action Fund, and is part of a broader effort by the group to drive national conversations about veterans’ issues.
It was a standing-room-only crowd at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.
Pete Buttigieg says Democrats must be better about laying out a proactive vision for the country
Buttigieg spoke for about 20 minutes before taking questions from the crowd for about an hour. Those questions covered a range of veterans’ issues, as well as some that were more focused on the existential questions facing the Democratic Party and the country.
Buttigieg said that in order for Democrats to convert potential voters, they have to have a more coherent vision for the future.
“Even in this moment, when opposition to the abuses coming out of Washington has never mattered more, this isn’t just about what we are trying to block,” he told the crowd. “It’s about what we are determined to build. It’s about what could be better — what will be better if we follow the guiding lights of this country.”
His appearance comes as Iowa Democrats continue to grapple with the fallout of brutal 2024 election losses and as they begin to put together a strategy attempting to regain ground in 2026.
A series of Democratic candidates have announced they will run for various offices of late, including state Auditor Rob Sand, who launched a gubernatorial campaign a day earlier.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, who was in attendance, said Democrats in the state are looking for someone to give them hope.
“They want to see that Democrats are fighting back, that they are providing truth,” she said. “There’s just so many issues that people are upset about. They’ve got a lot of emotion, but they want to see some hope for the future.”
Buttigieg said that even though it’s difficult to watch the Republican policies being enacted, it’s a moment to step up and create change.
“What makes America great is its ability to wrestle with its darkest demons and come out stronger and better for it,” he said.
Dubuque resident Kenneth Miller Jr., said he supported Buttigieg for president during his 2020 Iowa Caucus run, and he appreciated hearing him again in Cedar Rapids.
Miller, a U.S. Navy veteran, said he agrees with Buttigieg that Democrats need to do a better job of talking about the things they support rather than focusing on their opponents.
“It’s common sense,” he said. “… He speaks in complete sentences. He explains himself. (It’s) something we don’t get anymore nowadays from most politicians, including the one that’s running the show.”
Pete Buttigieg’s Iowa visit sparks questions about 2028 White House run
Although Iowa no longer leads off Democrats’ presidential nominating calendar, Buttigieg’s return still sparked questions about his future White House aspirations.
He recently passed on running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, fueling speculation that he could be eyeing another presidential run in 2028. And his appearance in Cedar Rapids was his first public in-person event since leaving his Cabinet post in January.
He declined to weigh in when asked by reporters whether Iowa should reclaim its first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. But he touted what the caucus experience did for his rise.
“People like me are takers and not makers of the rules on that,” he said. “What I will say is that Iowa showed me what can happen through a process where you have to be in backyards and do four town halls a day. It made it possible for somebody like me to emerge as a national figure, and it certainly made me better, not just as a candidate, but I think ultimately, as a public servant, when I did have the opportunity to serve in the Capitol.”
Buttigieg told reporters that “maybe” the Democratic Party would have been better off if Joe Biden hadn’t initially decided to run for president.
“And, you know, right now, with the benefit of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” he said. “We’re also not in a position to wallow in hindsight. We’ve got to get ready for some fundamental tests of the future of this country and this party, some of which are going on this very year, many of which will come next year.”
Republicans dismiss Buttigieg’s ‘empty rhetoric’
Republicans were dismissive of Buttigieg’s presence in the state.
Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann said in a statement that Trump has followed through on his promises to veterans “while Democrats play politics with their care.”
“President Trump made veterans a top priority, delivering real results — not empty rhetoric,” he said in a statement. “Whether it was improving health care access, cutting waste, or ending DEI nonsense at the VA, he focused on honoring those who served.”
And Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for the National Republican Campaign Committee, said in a statement that Buttigieg’s visit amounts to “phony political theater.”
“Democrats in Iowa are completely out of touch, parachuting in a failed radical who supports biological men in girls’ sports, free healthcare for illegal immigrants, and allowing illegals to decide our elections,” she said.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at [email protected] or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.