新罕布什尔州康科德—— 在中期选举前的最后几周，皮特·布蒂吉格正在全国各地巡回竞选，为关键摇摆州甚至传统上对民主党敌视的地区的候选人助选。这也帮助他将目光投向了11月之后。
CONCORD, New Hampshire— Pete Buttigieg is barnstorming the nation in the final weeks before the midterms, boosting candidates in battlegrounds and even areas traditionally hostile to Democrats. And it’s helping him look beyond November.
进入冲刺阶段，根据其政治团队“赢取时代”发言人首次向《Playbook》分享的行程安排，布蒂吉格计划在至少六个州进行竞选活动：北卡罗来纳州、弗吉尼亚州、新泽西州、佐治亚州和内华达州，以及他的第二故乡密歇根州。
Down the homestretch, Buttigieg is set to campaign in at least six states: North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Georgia and Nevada, along with his adopted home state of Michigan, according to an itinerary shared first with Playbook by a spokesperson for Win the Era, his political group.
随着布蒂吉格奔波于全国各地，他一直在打磨竞选演说，将具体的生活成本担忧与政治改革这一更为抽象的需求联系起来。
Buttigieg has been refining his campaign trail message as he crisscrosses the country, connecting concrete cost-of-living concerns to the more abstract need for political reform.
这是一种实战演练，帮助他进一步界定自己的政治品牌，同时正如他常说的那样，利用这一品牌为党派“发挥作用”。
It’s a kind of real-world testing that helps him further define his political brand at the same time that he leverages it to “be useful,” as he so often puts it, to his party.
“我深信，实际上，只有当你同时有改革主张时，你的经济主张才具有可信度，”布蒂吉格在罗切斯特歌剧院集会后接受采访时表示，当时他受到了起立鼓掌的欢迎。“因为否则，你只是在说人们赞同的话，这固然很好，但他们可能不相信你真能兑现承诺。”他还在与选民和党内领袖建立关系，如果他参加2028年总统大选，这些关系将大有裨益——这是他被反复问到的一个问题。
（“走着瞧吧，”他在迪尔菲尔德集市上对一位女士说道。）“对皮特来说，与其在全国范围内为他为民主党所做的一切争取赞誉，不如在未来可能受益的地方建立关系，”布蒂吉格的亲信大卫·阿克塞尔罗德说道。
“I have a lot of conviction that, actually, your economic message only has credibility if you have a reform message, too,” Buttigieg said in an interview after a Rochester Opera House rally where he received a standing ovation. “Because otherwise, what you're doing is you're saying things that people agree with, which is great, but they might not believe that you can actually deliver it.”He’s also building the kinds of relationships with voters and party leaders that can be useful if he runs for president in 2028, a question he was repeatedly asked. (“We’ll see,” he told one woman at the Deerfield Fair.)“For Pete, it's less about getting credit nationally for what he's done for Democrats and more about building relationships in places that will be beneficial down the line,” said David Axelrod, a Buttigieg confidant.
布蒂吉格作为备受追捧的代言人地位，在他为期48小时的新罕布什尔州之行中展露无遗。他在2020年初选中仅以“极其、极其、极其微弱的劣势”屈居参议员伯尼·桑德斯（佛蒙特州独立党籍）之后，正如布蒂吉格周六晚在康科德举行的新罕布什尔州民主党埃莉诺·罗斯福晚宴上所言。
Buttigieg’s status as an in-demand surrogate was on full display during his 48-hour swing through the Granite State, where he finished “a very, very, very close second place” to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the 2020 primary, as Buttigieg put it in Saturday evening remarks at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Eleanor Roosevelt Dinner in Concord.
“我找不到比他更好的搭档了，”众议员克里斯·帕帕斯在周五罗切斯特的满座集会上介绍布蒂吉格时说道。“大家都知道他是值得信赖的声音，”正在竞选帕帕斯席位的斯特凡尼·肖欣在曼彻斯特榆树街的书店、咖啡馆和糖果店与布蒂吉格一同竞选后告诉《政治报》。
“I couldn’t ask for a better wingman,” Rep. Chris Pappas said, introducing Buttigieg at the packed rally Friday in Rochester. “People know that he’s a trusted voice,” Stefany Shaheen, who is running for Pappas’ seat, told POLITICO after campaigning at a book store, cafe and candy shop with Buttigieg along Elm Street in Manchester.
布蒂吉格如何从中期选举中汲取经验 布蒂吉格既没有关键摇摆州的州长职位，也没有可注入中期选举的个人财富。他提供的是他自己：本周期他已背书超过100人，亲自为其中约一半人助选，自离开交通部以来已造访37个州。
How Buttigieg is learning from the midterms Buttigieg has neither a battleground governorship nor a personal fortune to wire into midterm races. What he has put on offer is himself: He’s made more than 100 endorsements this cycle, campaigning in person for roughly half of them, and stops in 37 states since he left the Transportation Department.
布蒂吉格受到欢迎，而他的一些潜在竞争对手却遭候选人冷遇 他与罗布·桑德和乔什·图雷克在爱荷华州同台竞选，两人分别竞选州长和参议员。他支持布兰登·杜克斯在宾夕法尼亚州众议院特别选举中翻盘，该席位特朗普曾以18个百分点优势拿下。他是同辈中唯一背书哈特福德市长卢克·布罗宁的人，后者击败了长期连任的众议员约翰·拉尔森，在康涅狄格州取得胜利。
Buttigieg was welcomed in places where candidates shunned some of his potential rivals He campaigned with Rob Sand and Josh Turek in Iowa as they run for governor and senator, respectively. He backed Brandon Dukes in his special election effort to flip a Pennsylvania state House seat that Trump won by 18 points. He was alone among his peers in endorsing Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin in his victory over longtime Rep. John Larson in Connecticut“If I can help give voice to what people are after in diverse geographies, including very conservative areas,” he said, “turns out that's my best use of time.”
“如果我能帮助在不同地域、包括极度保守的地区，为民众诉求发声，”他说，“事实证明这是我时间最好的用途。”布蒂吉格承认，在唐纳德·特朗普第二任期伊始，他不确定自己将在党的中期选举中扮演何种角色。如今，他正在梳理沿途收集的所有数据和信息。
Buttigieg admitted he wasn't certain what role he would play in the party's midterms at the start of President Donald Trump's second term. Now he’s processing all of the data and inputs he’s receiving along his travels.
“我在不断深入了解我们的国家和政党，我看到的是，民众对变革有着真切的渴望，”他告诉《政治报》（POLITICO）。“首先是政策层面。其次是我们所拥有的政治模式，第三是体制本身。”这已演变成他演讲中的核心论点，将生活成本与政治改革联系起来：“如果我们想让餐桌上的日子过得更好，就必须解决那个正在抽掉餐桌腿的政治体制，”布蒂吉格周五晚在罗切斯特歌剧院说道。
“I’m learning a lot about our country and our party as I go, and what I’m seeing is that people have a real hunger for change,” he told POLITICO. “First of all, in policy. Secondly, in the kind of politics that we have, and third, in the system itself.”That’s developed into a core argument in his speeches connecting the cost of living to political reform: “If we want the kitchen table to be better off, we got to deal with the political system that is kicking the legs out from under the kitchen table,” Buttigieg said at the Rochester Opera House Friday evening.
这一信息的生命力可延续至中期选举之后，布蒂吉格正试图引领他的政党走向那里。
It’s a message that can last long beyond the midterms, and Buttigieg is trying to point his party there.
“我真正想推动我党面对的部分，是必须对‘然后呢’给出答案，”他说。“当唐纳德·特朗普退出政治舞台时，有一个巨大的‘然后呢’；但从11月4日开始，还有一个当下的‘然后呢’。”他主张，一个民主党主导的国会需要“开局即呈现引人入胜的执政愿景”，并应迅速在关税、最低工资、税收公平、医疗保健、儿童税收抵免以及包括选区划分在内的政治改革等方面采取行动。
“Part of what I'm really trying to push my party on is the need to have answers for 'then what,'” he said. “There's a big 'then what' for when Donald Trump leaves the political scene, but there's an immediate 'then what' starting on Nov. 4.”A Democratic Congress, he argued, needs “a compelling governing vision coming out of the gate” and should move quickly on tariffs, the minimum wage, tax fairness, health care, the Child Tax Credit and political reforms including gerrymandering.
2028年的疑问 即使他在记者提问中多次避谈下一步动向，表示专注于2026年，但他2020年竞选的遗存与未来竞选的暗示已堆积如山。人们佩戴着“新罕布什尔挺皮特”的徽章和T恤。他旧时的播放列表，包括克里登斯·克利尔沃特复兴乐队的《Up Around the Bend》，在周五晚的集会上响起。
The 2028 question Even as he sidestepped several questions from reporters about his next moves, saying he was focused on 2026, remnants of his 2020 campaign and hints of a future one piled up. People wore "Pete for New Hampshire" buttons and T-shirts. His old playlist, including Creedence Clearwater Revival's “Up Around the Bend,” played at the Friday night rally.
第二天晚上在罗斯福晚宴上，面对400多名观众的爆满全场，布蒂吉格赢得了起立鼓掌，最终汇聚成“皮特，皮特，皮特”的呼喊声。
At the Roosevelt dinner the next night, in front of a sold-out crowd of over 400, Buttigieg earned a standing ovation that ended in "Pete, Pete, Pete" chants.
“皮特在2020年拥有强大的新罕布什尔州组织，险胜，”新罕布什尔州民主党主席雷·巴克利告诉《政治报》。“如果说有什么变化，那就是他在此地的人气更旺了。”自那以后，许多事情已发生改变。
“Pete had a great New Hampshire organization in 2020, nearly winning,” Ray Buckley, the chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, told POLITICO. “If anything, his popularity here has grown.”Much has changed since then.
周六晚上，布蒂吉格没有选择当时他无处不在的标志性歌曲——恐慌！乐队（Panic! At the Disco）的《高期望》（High Hopes），也没有选择他去年在竞选途中试用的Imagine Dragons乐队的《是时候了》（It's Time），而是采用了新激进派乐队（New Radicals）的《你付出什么就得到什么》（You Get What You Give）。
On Saturday evening, instead of walking out to Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes,” his ubiquitous anthem back then, or even Imagine Dragons’ “It’s Time,” which he road-tested last year, Buttigieg employed “You Get What You Give” by the New Radicals.
此外，还有更深层的变化：布蒂吉格如今是五岁双胞胎古斯和佩内洛普的父亲。他正在权衡自己能否在竞选总统的同时，继续做一个称职且陪伴在侧的好父亲。
There have been deeper changes, too: Buttigieg is now the father of 5-year-old twins, Gus and Penelope. He is weighing whether he can run for president and remain a good and present father.
他的丈夫查斯滕是一位“伟大的父亲”，并且“理解我为什么要在路上奔波”。重返竞选之路的布蒂吉格，正在赢得那些在2020年没有支持他的人的青睐。
His husband, Chasten, is a “great dad” and “knows why I'm on the road.”Back on the road, Buttigieg is winning over those who didn’t back him in 2020.
周五晚上，在罗切斯特会场后排，该市市长查克·格拉斯（Chuck Grassie）佩戴着一枚“为彼得竞选新罕布什尔州”（Pete for New Hampshire）的徽章，注视着现场的情景。格拉斯在2020年支持了马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦，他自认为是一名“务实的进步派”，并表示布蒂吉格能够将党内的温和派与进步派团结起来。
At the back of the room in Rochester on Friday night, the town’s Mayor Chuck Grassie wore a "Pete for New Hampshire" button as he took in the scene. Grassie, who backed Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren in 2020 and considers himself a “pragmatic progressive,” said Buttigieg could knit together the party’s moderate and progressive factions.
格拉斯说：“我认为他是一个能吸引很多人的人。”“我接触的很多人都在说：‘你知道吗，他看起来一天比一天好。’”格拉斯补充道：“在新罕布什尔州，我认为彼得可能是那个需要被击败的人。”
“He’s a guy I think would attract a lot of people,” Grassie said. “And a lot of people I talk to are saying, ‘You know, he's looking better and better every day.’”Added Grassie: “In New Hampshire, I think Pete may be the guy to beat.”