Polling Finds Pete Buttigieg Less Popular with Black Voters Than Former KKK Leader
A recent Yale Youth Poll reveals that former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is struggling to gain support among black voters, receiving just 4% backing in the poll. This low level of support is notable as it is indeed lower than the 14% support that former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke received from black voters in Louisiana during his 2016 Senate run, a fact highlighted and circulated widely on social media. The poll, which surveyed over 3,400 registered voters nationwide, showed former Vice President Kamala Harris leading among black voters with 47% support, followed by California Governor Gavin Newsom at 12%, and Representative alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 9%. Among all likely 2028 Democratic presidential contenders, Newsom led overall with 25%, Harris had 18%, Ocasio-Cortez had 16%, and Buttigieg trailed with 14%. The findings have stirred discussion about Buttigieg’s appeal within key voter demographics for future presidential elections.
A resurfaced statistic involving former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke is making waves online after new polling showed former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg struggling badly with black voters.
An older poll highlighted by Business Insider during Duke’s failed 2016 U.S. Senate run found that he received support from 14 percent of black voters in Louisiana.
That number is not the same as a national presidential poll.
But users on X quickly pointed out that Duke got more black support in a race than Buttigieg currently has after the release of the fall Yale Youth Poll.
Blacks supported the Grand Wizard of the KKK over 3x more than they do Pete Buttigieg. https://t.co/kO9DQofE7W pic.twitter.com/YmXsCuStxS
— Magills (@magills_) December 9, 2025
The Yale poll showed Buttigieg — who has been consistently floated as a 2028 contender — pulling in just four percent support among black voters.
The poll sampled 3,426 registered voters.
That included 1,706 voters between the ages of 18 and 34. Results were weighted for age, sex, race, education, and party identification.
Among black voters, former Vice President Kamala Harris led the field of potential 2028 Democratic candidates with 47 percent support.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom came in second with 12 percent.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) followed with nine percent.
Buttigieg trailed far behind with his small of four points.
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
As Business Insider noted in 2016, “David Duke, the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan who recently announced he’s running for US Senate, has the support of 14% of black voters in his home state of Louisiana, according to a poll from the University of New Orleans’ Survey Research Center.”
As for the broader Yale poll, Newsom led overall among likely 2028 Democratic contenders with 25 percent support.
Harris followed with 18 percent.
Ocasio-Cortez reached 16 percent, and Buttigieg came in at 14 percent.
No other potential candidate in the Yale poll reached double digits.
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