South Bend Mayor improvises as the power goes out at his rally in Sparks High School, in Sparks, Nevada. (Photo by Harrison Blackman)

When the power went out on Mayor Pete in Sparks, Nevada

Though Buttigieg electrified a Nevada audience, the electric grid had other plans

On September 28, 2019, the day Pete Buttigieg visited Northern Nevada, the temperature dropped from 64º to 41º F in a matter of hours. Dark clouds loomed over the lip of the Sierras. Winds blustered around this edge of the Great Basin, signaling that Northern Nevada’s brief autumn was in fact over — winter, rather, was already here. If the climate was any indication, then Nevada’s caucus — February 22, 2020, the third Democratic primary contest — felt just around the corner.

Sparks, a city neighboring and bleeding into Reno, is probably not the Northern Nevada locale you’d expect the South Bend, Indiana mayor to focus his efforts. While Reno is gathering tech and hipster steam, Sparks retains a suburban feel, with more retirees and a quainter scale than the gaudiness of Reno’s aging casino infrastructure.

So it was fitting that Mayor Buttigieg made his appearance at Sparks High School, home of the “Railroaders.” Within the brick walls of the high school gym, a stage was set up — a stool and metal water bottle the only objects on display in front of the juxtaposed Star-Spangled Banner and “Battle Born” flags. In one corner, the pep band squeakily played the Rocky…