Pete Buttigieg and Latino’s?

As Iowa and New Hampshire voters boost Pete Buttigieg’s presidential hopes, Latinos in Nevada and California are asking: Pete who?

Buttigieg’s struggles to connect with voters of color, even as he’s vaulted into the top-tier of the Democratic presidential race, doesn’t end with black voters. The South Bend mayor polls in the low single digits among Latinos, too. And Nevada — the third state to cast ballots and where Latinos make up about a third of the population — threatens to deliver a blow to the 37-year-old’s campaign before South Carolina even votes.

In interviews with more than a dozen Latino activists and leader from Washington to California and Nevada, some members of the key voting bloc describe Buttigieg’s outreach as non-existent. His problem among Latinos has been largely overlooked as Buttigieg labors to counter criticism that he is out of step with African Americans. That liability became so pronounced this week that Buttigieg felt compelled to personally call an African-American writer for The Root who ripped the mayor’s past comments about low-income children of color.