Who is Pete Buttigieg? Indiana mayor and war veteran launches bid to become first gay US president
South Bend's favourite son, a Rhodes Scholar, war veteran and two-term official at 37, has revitalised his hometown economy but faces huge challenge in stepping up to national level
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pete Buttigieg, mayor of the town of South Bend, Indiana, is the latest Democrat to declare his candidacy for the 2020 US presidential race.
Aged just 37, Mr Buttigieg was a lieutentant in the US Navy Reserve who took time out from his first term to serve in Afghanistan in 2013 and becomes only the second openly gay politician to challenge for the White House following Fred Karger's failed bid for the Republican nomination in 2012.
He was widely expected to join what is quickly becoming a crowded field, along with the likes of senators Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand, after announcing in December he would not seek a third term as mayor of his hometown, answering to a population of just 100,000 people.
In his first campaign video, Mr Buttigieg appealed directly to younger voters, arguing his combination of youth and experience leaves him ideally placed to understand and represent their needs and values.
“I belong to a generation that is stepping forward right now. We’re the generation that lived through school shootings, that served in the wars after 9/11 and we’re the generation that stands to be the first to make less than our parents unless we do something different,” he said.
“We can’t just polish off a system so broken. It is a season for boldness and a focus on the future.”
While he is the youngest candidate to have declared his run so far, he is not the only millennial in the pack: Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard is also 37.
Mr Buttigieg points to his efforts in revitalising and diversifying the economy of South Bend, a Rust Belt town mired in post-industrial decline until he took office eight years ago, as evidence of his potential to implement the same policies on a national scale.
“We propelled our city’s comeback by taking our eyes off the rearview mirror, being honest about change and insisting on a better future,” he said.
Born of Maltese and Scottish ancestry, Pete Buttgieg was an early achiever from a young age, winning the JFK Profiles in Courage Essay Contest in 2000 as a high school senior for his paper in praise of Vermont congressman Bernie Sanders, receiving his prize at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston, Massachusetts, from the late president’s daughter, Caroline.
Subsequently a Harvard graduate and a recepient of Oxford University’s prestigious Rhodes scholarship (also awarded to Bill Clinton) as well as the Joint Service Commendation Medal, Mr Buttigieg has already proved he can deliver votes in the heart of Trumpland, taking 80 per cent of the vote when he was re-elected in 2015.
He was also praised by Barack Obama in a New Yorker interview in November 2016, when the president named him along with Ms Harris and senators Michael Bennet of Colorado and Tim Kaine of Virginia as reasons to be optimistic for the future of the Democratic Party.
But his last attempt to step up from local politics ended in disappointment, when he failed to drum up sufficient support to win the chairmanship of the Democratic National Convention in 2017 despite impressing with his message on the need for the party to completely rebuild.
He earned acclaim once more when he appeared on the Powerhouse Politics podcast last year and attacked Donald Trump for appeasing North Korean despot Kim Jong-un.
“This president seems committed to talking to our enemies but seems to have a little more trouble talking to our friends. I’m not totally convinced that the United States has a foreign policy right now,” he said.
“I’m having a hard time figuring out what we got in exchange for legitimising the North Korean regime. We’ve put an American flag next to a North Korean flag and basically treated a dictator like an equal.”
He further demonstrated his way with a phrase when asked if he might run for the White House: “I think in 2020 we’re going to find out which of the rules of politics still apply and which ones have been broken forever. You know the president of the United States is basically a game show host.”
Pete Buttigieg lives in South Bend with his husband Chasten Glezman and two rescue dogs: Truman and Buddy.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.