Thread by @DJJudd

And I’m back! @PriscillaWT sent me.

And South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is on jar #3 at the @WHOhd Cast Your Kernel booth, ahead of his stop today at the Iowa State Fair.

It’s official, I’m a fair guy now

.@adamwren and I did the thing, ate the chop.

Wow, a cow made of butter!

NOPE

People have begun to gather for South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s remarks at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox speech at the Iowa State Fair— the Mayor is scheduled to speak in the next hour.

And it looks like Mayor Pete Buttigieg has a team of volunteers on site at the Iowa State Fair ready to canvas with commit to caucus cards at today’s Soapbox Speech.

And it looks like South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has opted for the mass transit route to the Iowa State Fair today (Buttigieg on DART!)

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has arrived at the Iowa State Fair

And South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has made his first purchase at the Iowa State Fair— a root beer float.

.@Bidar411 asked Pete Buttigieg how he felt as the only candidate at the Iowa State Fair today. “Great,” Buttigieg told him. “More pork tenderloin for me.”

I asked Mayor Pete Buttigieg what he thought of the root beer float he ordered— he told me he was initially skeptical of a root beer float with soft serve ice cream, “but they clearly know what they’re doing,” adding, “I probably should’ve gotten a large.”

Quite the crowd for Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s Des Moines Register Soap Box speech at the Iowa State Fair— they’ve begun chanting “We want Pete!”

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg taking audience questions on the Des Moines Register Political Soap Box at the Iowa State Fair.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg gaggles with reporters after his soap box speech.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg greets fans after his soap box speech— one Iowan tells him “You won me over!”

“I shook Robert Kennedy’s hand in 1968,” a woman tells Pete Buttigieg. “So you’re good luck?” he asks. “Not really— he was shot a month later,” she tells him.

Pete Buttigieg meets former Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge at the Iowa State Fair.

Pete Buttigieg stops at the @WHOhd cast your kernel booth, jokes, “Who should I vote for?” before casting a kernel for himself.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg greets Iowa Pork Queen Gracie Greiner at the Iowa Pork Producer’s tent, before donning an apron and flipping some pork.

We’re out here having a 👏 hot 👏 grill 👏 summer.

And Mayor Pete Buttigieg gets his hands on the Iowa State Fair staple , the pork chop on a stick.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg stops for a selfie with the butter cow at the Iowa State Fair

“Mayor Pete! Have a gizmo!” a vendor yells. “What’s a gizmo?” Buttigieg asks. “Oh, they’re the best!” the vendor says. So Mayor Pete Buttigieg buys a gizmo (they appear to be a variation on the sausage sandwich).

Pete Buttigieg stops by the Iowa Democratic Party Booth, posing with cardboard cutouts of the Democratic Congressional delegation before signing a caricature of himself and other 2020 Democratic hopefuls.

And South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg stops by “The Bacon Box” at the Iowa State Fair for a Bacon-Ball BLT. “It’s got cheese inside!” the mayor tells me.

Here at the Iowa State Fair, a voter asked Pete Buttigieg about his campaign’s use of private planes— Buttigieg told him, “Unfortunately, I find that driving or traveling by train is not enough to get us across the country to meet all the voters that I’ve got to interact with.”

And now South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has stopped to eat a fried Oreo at the Iowa State Fair. “Are you almost full?” I ask the mayor. “About 60%” he tells me.

And now Mayor Pete Buttigieg has stopped for a slushee at the Iowa State Fair. “Red, White, and Blue seems obvious,” he jokes.

It’s not just Mayor Pete Buttigieg who’s been enjoying fair cuisine at the Iowa State Fair— traveling press secretary @ninasophia81 enjoys a deep fried Mac and Cheese covered in bacon bites.

And South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg rides down the famed Iowa State Fair slide. I asked how he enjoyed the ride— he told me “No injuries, no arrests.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg joins the Des Moines Register’s @bcrodriguez for an interview via sky glider at the Iowa State Fair.

And with that, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has left the Iowa State Fair. His visit, by the numbers: 4 hours, countless reporters, 11,281 steps, millions of calories, one Democratic candidate for president.

And now, your favorite embeds are going to check out the fair.