Buttigieg Fundraiser Bluntly Offers Influence For Donations, Emails Show

Pete Buttigieg is likely to find himself further mired in the controversy over wealthy donors behind his presidential nomination campaign after a surprisingly straightforward email from one of his fundraisers recently surfaced.

Axios was able to get their hands on emails being sent by a fundraiser for Buttigieg’s campaign that did not mince words, reading, “if you want to get on the campaign's radar now before he is flooded with donations after winning Iowa and New Hampshire, you can use the link below for donations.”

A spokesperson for the Campaign Legal Center, an independent finance watchdog, told Axios that although the “pay-to-play” aspects of appealing to big money donors is hardly a secret, the wording in this email is unusually brazen.

In response, a representative from the Buttigieg campaign told Axios that while the phrasing used in the email was not written or approved by the campaign, it does not contain any nefarious intent and suggesting otherwise is “ridiculous.”

The South Bend Mayor and Democratic presidential nominee contender has been accused by critics – in particular, fellow candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) – of not being transparent about who he takes money from.

During last week’s final Democratic nominee debate, Buttigieg came under fire for hosting a so-called “wine cave” fundraising event, which featured a lavish dinner and was attended by a number of wealthy individuals. His opponents argued that this event was just one of many examples of how Buttigieg is not only embracing monied supporters but shies away from providing campaign finance transparency.

Ahead of the debate it was discovered that a public donor list, released by Buttigieg’s campaign in an effort to assuage his critics, omitted at least 20 extremely wealthy donors. A spokesperson from the campaign said that it was a mistake that would be fixed immediately and was not intended to be deceptive.

The clash over wealthy donors began when Warren accused Buttigieg of taking millions from wealthy backers during closed-door events. She suggested these fundraising events were being held away from the public eye in order to conceal the individuals seeking to curry favor with the potential future Democratic presidential nominee.

For Warren and others critical of Buttigieg’s campaign finance openness, this recent fundraising email from H.K. Park – who is listed on Buttigieg’s website as one of this campaign’s top donors – only adds fuel to the fire.

Mayor Buttigieg is currently ranked fourth nationally among the Democratic presidential nominee hopefuls.