Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who served in the Navy during the war in Afghanistan, announced on Wednesday that he is launching an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid.
Buttigieg made the announcement in an email to supporters and in a video posted online where he lays out his message of generational change centered on three values: Freedom, security and democracy. In that video, Buttigieg leans into how he took over South Bend when he was 29 years old and claims he turned around what had been referred to as a "dying city."
Lesser known Democrats head to Iowa facing difficult 2020 prospects
"There's a new generation of voices emerging in our country, walking away from the politics of the past and ready to deliver on our priorities. There is no 'again' in the real world; that's not a bad thing," Buttigieg says in the video. "We are ready for a fresh start."
Buttigieg's 2020 argument is that he would like to do the same for the country that he did for South Bend, even if he knows the odds are against him, and that the only way to accomplish change like that is through a generational shift in American politics.
"What will America look like in 2054, when I reach the age of the current president," he asked in his email to supporters. "How will we look back on 2020?"
Buttigieg, who most recently ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee after the 2016 election, has been exploring a presidential bid for over a year, moving closer with a trip to Iowa in December where he was well received by an audience of progressives in Des Moines.
The mayor, who has little national name recognition and could struggle to get attention in a crowded field including heavyweights like Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Buttigieg followed up his announcement with a news conference in Washington where he told reporters that there has been a "total realignment in the politics of this country" and that his age would be a selling point in a crowded Democratic field. But he also acknowledged his long odds.
"We are not going to be the most established, we are not going to be the most well-funded, I am obviously not stepping onto this stage as the most famous person in this conversation," he said. "But I belong to a party whose characteristic has always been to look for fresh voices, new leadership and big ideas, and I think that is what 2020 is going to be about."
In an interview with CNN's Jeff Zeleny, Buttigieg said, "if you are planning to be here for decades, you just look at the world a little bit differently than" older candidates.
"I think when you run at this age, your face is your message in a lot of ways," he said. "And part of what we are looking at is the idea that it's time for a new generation in American leadership."
Buttigieg was born and raised in South Bend and went on to attend Harvard College and later became a Rhodes scholar. After a three-year stint at the consulting firm McKinsey and Company, Buttigieg came back to Indiana and lost a race for state treasurer in 2010. The race helped him with his name recognition in the state, however, and he successfully won his first term as mayor of South Bend in 2011. Buttigieg was first deployed to Afghanistan two years later in 2013.
Another issue for the mayor's bid is how to pronounce his last name, something that has become a bit of a running joke between he and his husband, Chasten, who tweeted a list of possible pronunciations in 2018 that included "boot-edge-edge," "buddha-judge" and "boot-a-judge."
Buttigieg made the announcement in an email to supporters and in a video posted online where he lays out his message of generational change centered on three values: Freedom, security and democracy. In that video, Buttigieg leans into how he took over South Bend when he was 29 years old and claims he turned around what had been referred to as a "dying city."
Lesser known Democrats head to Iowa facing difficult 2020 prospects
"There's a new generation of voices emerging in our country, walking away from the politics of the past and ready to deliver on our priorities. There is no 'again' in the real world; that's not a bad thing," Buttigieg says in the video. "We are ready for a fresh start."
Buttigieg's 2020 argument is that he would like to do the same for the country that he did for South Bend, even if he knows the odds are against him, and that the only way to accomplish change like that is through a generational shift in American politics.
"What will America look like in 2054, when I reach the age of the current president," he asked in his email to supporters. "How will we look back on 2020?"
Buttigieg, who most recently ran for chair of the Democratic National Committee after the 2016 election, has been exploring a presidential bid for over a year, moving closer with a trip to Iowa in December where he was well received by an audience of progressives in Des Moines.
The mayor, who has little national name recognition and could struggle to get attention in a crowded field including heavyweights like Sen. Kamala Harris of California, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Buttigieg followed up his announcement with a news conference in Washington where he told reporters that there has been a "total realignment in the politics of this country" and that his age would be a selling point in a crowded Democratic field. But he also acknowledged his long odds.
"We are not going to be the most established, we are not going to be the most well-funded, I am obviously not stepping onto this stage as the most famous person in this conversation," he said. "But I belong to a party whose characteristic has always been to look for fresh voices, new leadership and big ideas, and I think that is what 2020 is going to be about."
In an interview with CNN's Jeff Zeleny, Buttigieg said, "if you are planning to be here for decades, you just look at the world a little bit differently than" older candidates.
"I think when you run at this age, your face is your message in a lot of ways," he said. "And part of what we are looking at is the idea that it's time for a new generation in American leadership."
Buttigieg was born and raised in South Bend and went on to attend Harvard College and later became a Rhodes scholar. After a three-year stint at the consulting firm McKinsey and Company, Buttigieg came back to Indiana and lost a race for state treasurer in 2010. The race helped him with his name recognition in the state, however, and he successfully won his first term as mayor of South Bend in 2011. Buttigieg was first deployed to Afghanistan two years later in 2013.
Another issue for the mayor's bid is how to pronounce his last name, something that has become a bit of a running joke between he and his husband, Chasten, who tweeted a list of possible pronunciations in 2018 that included "boot-edge-edge," "buddha-judge" and "boot-a-judge."
….. he get deported to North Korea ???