South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg targeted Senator
Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) on Monday as he surges in polls of
Democratic primary voters."I'm really concerned about what we're hearing from Senator Warren and some of the others saying that you're either for her way or you’re for business as usual," Buttigieg said on CNN. "What I'm putting forward on healthcare…gets the job done for a lot less money, and respects the wishes of the
American people who want to have a choice" of healthcare providers, the mayor continued. Warren released her universal medicare plan on Friday with a price tag of $21 trillion in additional spending.A Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Sunday put Buttigieg in fourth place among Democratic primary voters nationally. A poll released Friday recorded Buttigieg in third place among prospective Iowa caucus voters, ahead of national front-runner Joe Biden.In an interview that aired Friday Buttigieg framed Warren as the candidate to defeat in the Democratic presidential race."I think this is getting to be a two-way" race, Buttigieg said on Showtime's The Circus."You see that coming into focus…you and Warren?" interviewer John Heilemann asks."Yeah, and certainly a world where we're getting somewhere is that world," Buttigieg responded.However, Buttigieg attempted to walk back those comments on Saturday, telling reporters in Iowa that "the bottom line is this is a really strong competition among really strong campaigns."When asked to comment on his predictions of a two-way race between himself and Warren during the
CNN interview Monday, the Indiana mayor refused to discuss the other Democratic presidential campaigns.