Is Mayor Pete the billionaires’ choice for Democratic nominee?

Senator Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg brought a heated exchange to the debate stage Thursday night on the topic of campaign financing. Warren brought up Buttigieg’s recent close-door fundraiser, which she described as “a wine cave full of crystals” that served $900 bottles of wine. In response, Buttigieg said he was the only one of the seven candidates on the stage who was not a millionaire or billionaire. Heather McGhee, distinguished fellow and former president of Demos, says the key difference between the two candidates’ approaches is that Warren’s commitment to fighting inequality has always been clear, while Buttigieg “is more of a cipher” and a moderate candidate billionaires think “maybe we can influence.” Warren continues to advocate for changing campaign rules and breaking up big corporations, whereas Buttigieg is still having “closed-door fundraisers, still raising from billionaires” and “being softer on economic inequality,” McGhee notes.