Ryan Nicol
Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Eric Swallwell will both make a stop in Miami Friday as they plan to speak at a conference of Latino lawmakers.
That gathering is being hosted by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). The group’s 36th annual conference began Thursday at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami. The event runs through Saturday.
Buttigieg will appear to speak before the group at 9 a.m. Friday morning. Swalwell will follow that up with a talk at 10 a.m.
Their time in South Florida will be short-lived, however.
Buttigieg is scheduled to appear in South Carolina Friday afternoon to meet with local leaders at a Florence church. Swalwell is also heading to the Palmetto State to met with the South Carolina Young Democrats.
The trip to South Florida will be Buttigieg’s second in just about a month. In late May, he stopped at Miami’s Wynwood area for a “grassroots fundraiser.” Buttigieg then attended another fundraiser in Miami Beach.
The current Mayor of South Bend, Indiana has performed surprisingly well in the polls in recent weeks, often placing as one of the top 5 candidates nationally in the Democratic field. There are currently 24 candidates who have announced a run for the Democratic nomination for President in 2020.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the most recent poll of Florida saw Buttigieg in fourth in the Sunshine State. That survey came from Quinnipiac.
Swalwell has struggled so far in the polls. He’s made gun violence a centerpiece of his candidacy. Swalwell kicked off his campaign with a gun violence town hall in Broward County.
Both candidates will remain schedule South Carolina for the upcoming weekend. They’ll appear Friday night at the Blue Palmetto Dinner put on by the state’s Democratic Party. On Saturday, both are scheduled to attend the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention.
The pair will be back in Miami next week to take part in the first debate of the Democratic primary cycle. That debate will consist of 20 candidates spread across two nights on June 26 and June 27. The duo will be among the group debating on Thursday, June 27.
