South Bend Mayor Announces Exploratory Committee For President

Pete Buttigieg says he's not the most well-known or well-funded candidate, but that doesn't matter.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg may run for President of the United States of America. City of South Bend photo.

(South Bend, Ind.) - Indiana Democrat Pete Buttigieg is forming an exploratory committee for a 2020 presidential bid. 

In announcing his run Wednesday, he cited some reasons for tossing his hat into the race 

“It’s time for a new generation of leadership for our country. We can’t nibble around the edges of a broken system,” said Buttigieg.

The 37-year-old Mayor of South Bend would be the first openly gay nominee to run for the highest office. But, “Mayor Pete” added another reason he is unique among the Democrats who have announced a bid for the 2020 presidency. 

“I am the only one who is living a middle-class lifestyle in a  middle-class neighborhood in middle America,” he said.

Buttigieg has touted his work to improve his city as he's prepared for an improbable jump from local politics to a presidential campaign.  Buttigieg is a Rhodes Scholar who was first elected mayor of his hometown in 2011 at age 29, making him the youngest mayor of a U.S. city with at least 100,000 residents. 

He is a former Navy intelligence officers and deployed to Afghanistan for several months during his first term as mayor.

By the way, his last name is pronounced “BOOT-eh-jej.”