SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, officially announced his presidential bid Sunday afternoon, hoping to make history as the youngest-ever, and the first-ever openly gay, commander in chief.

Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd inside a downtown tech hub that had once been the home of a long-ago-shuttered Studebaker car factory, Buttigieg promised to bring to the country the kind of change and innovation he'd helped to instill in his native South Bend.

"My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana. And I am running for President of the United States," he said, prompting a wave of adoring screams from the crowd. "I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold — at age 37— to seek the highest office in the land."

Touting the advances his native city made under his leadership — including a revitalized downtown and slashed unemployment — Buttigieg proclaimed that "South Bend is back."

And he got in more than a few digs at President Donald Trump, telling the crowd that he was going to "tell a different story than 'Make America Great Again.'"

"There is a myth being sold to industrial and rural communities: the myth that we can stop the clock and turn it back," he said. "It comes from people who think the only way to reach communities like ours is through resentment and nostalgia, selling an impossible promise of returning to a bygone era that was never as great as advertised to begin with."

The highly anticipated announcement marked the latest chapter in Buttigieg's meteoric rise from the mayor of the fourth-most-populous city in the nation's 17th-most-populated state to a legitimate presidential contender.

Buttigieg had previously launched a presidential exploratory committee in January, leading to a barrage of television interviews and newspaper articles highlighting his diverse resume. Buttigieg, the son of two Notre Dame University professors, attended Harvard; went on to become a Rhodes Scholar; did a stint at prestigious consulting firm McKinsey & Company; was elected as the mayor of South Bend at the age of 29; took a leave of absence during his first term to serve in Afghanistan as a naval intelligence officer; came out as gay in a column in his local newspaper a few months before his re-election; was re-elected with nearly 80 percent of the vote; married his partner Chasten in a church ceremony that was live-streamed on the Internet; and wrote a best-selling book.

He spent the months after his exploratory committee launch crisscrossing the country, introducing himself to crowds in the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, delivering a highly personal speech about how he wrestled with his sexual orientation, and taking shots at Vice President Mike Pence over his stances on gay marriage and LGBTQ equality.

He joins an exceptionally crowded field of candidates vying for his party's nomination. There are at least 14 major candidates in the race — 17 if you count three other semi-well known contenders — and almost half a dozen others who could still announce.

Democratic voters and politics watchers, however, have quickly taken notice of the millennial mayor, expressing admiration over his ability to speak seven languages, praising his intellectual ideas like "intergenerational justice," and embracing a handful of ambitious policy proposals, like abolishing the electoral college.

The money has been coming in, too.

Earlier this month, Buttigieg announced that he'd raised more than $7 million since launching his exploratory committee — a whopping amount for an until-now-relative unknown figure and one that has put him ahead of everyone in the Democratic race in terms of total money raised, except Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Texas Rep Beto O'Rourke and California Sen. Kamala Harris.

Last week, a pair of polls put Buttigieg in third place in Iowa (a Monmouth University poll had him getting the support of 9 percent of likely caucus-goers, behind 16 percent for Sanders and 27 percent for former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to join the race later this month) and in New Hampshire (a Saint Anselm College pollshowed him 11 percent, trailing Sanders, who got 16 percent, and Biden, who got 23 percent).

The speed of Buttigieg's ascent isn't lost on the newly minted candidate.

"A month ago," he joked during an appearance last week on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "we were just trying to get people to say my name."</s>Pete Buttigieg officially announces 2020 presidential campaign

If elected, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana would be the first-ever openly gay and youngest-ever U.S. president.</s>SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, officially announced his presidential bid Sunday afternoon, hoping to make history as the youngest-ever, and the first-ever openly gay, commander in chief.

Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd inside a downtown tech hub that had once been the home of a long-ago-shuttered Studebaker car factory, Buttigieg promised to bring to the country the kind of change and innovation he’d helped to instill in his native South Bend.

"My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana. And I am running for President of the United States," he said, prompting a wave of adoring screams from the crowd. "I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold — at age 37— to seek the highest office in the land."

Touting the advances his native city made under his leadership — including a revitalized downtown and slashed unemployment — Buttigieg proclaimed that "South Bend is back."

And he got in more than a few digs at President Donald Trump, telling the crowd that he was going to "tell a different story than 'Make America Great Again.'"

"There is a myth being sold to industrial and rural communities: the myth that we can stop the clock and turn it back," he said. "It comes from people who think the only way to reach communities like ours is through resentment and nostalgia, selling an impossible promise of returning to a bygone era that was never as great as advertised to begin with."

“The horror show in Washington is mesmerizing, all-consuming," he added. "But starting today, we are going to change the channel. Sometimes a dark moment brings out the best in us, what is good in us, dare I say, what is great in us.”

Buttigieg unveiled the three-pronged campaign message that he’s been sharing in bars in living rooms in recent weeks in the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina: Security (“the idea that security and patriotism belong to one political party needs to end now”) and democracy (“no issue we care about, from gun safety to immigration, from climate to education to paid family leave, will be handled well unless our democracy is in better shape.”)

“Our conservative friends care about freedom, but only make it part of the journey," he said. "They only see ‘freedom from,' freedom from taxes, freedom from regulation … as though government were the only thing that can make you unfree.

“But that’s not true. Your neighbor can make you unfree. Your cable company can make you unfree. There’s a lot more to your freedom than the size of your government.”

Touching on the message that helped catapult the last Democratic president, Barack Obama, to office, Buttigieg mentioned the word “change” at least 10 times, according to his prepared remarks, announcing at one point that “change is coming, ready or not.”

“The question of our time is whether families and workers will be defeated by the changes beneath us or whether we will master them and make them work toward a better everyday life for us all,” he said.

The highly anticipated announcement marked the latest chapter in Buttigieg’s meteoric rise from the mayor of the fourth-most-populous city in the nation’s 17th-most-populated state to a legitimate presidential contender.

Buttigieg had previously launched a presidential exploratory committee in January, leading to a barrage of television interviews and newspaper articles highlighting his diverse résumé. Buttigieg, the son of two Notre Dame University professors, attended Harvard; went on to become a Rhodes Scholar; did a stint at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co.; was elected as the mayor of South Bend at the age of 29; took a leave of absence during his first term to serve in Afghanistan as a naval intelligence officer; came out as gay in a column in his local newspaper a few months before his re-election; was re-elected with nearly 80 percent of the vote; married his partner Chasten in a church ceremony that was live-streamed on the Internet; and wrote a best-selling book.

On Sunday, Buttigieg made frequent mention of each of these parts of his résumé, but spent particular time addressing his military service and his coming out in a bluntly personal way — and at times melded stories from each part of his life together in compelling yarns that prompted loud applause.

“The men and women who got in my vehicle, they didn’t care if I was a Democrat or a Republican,” Buttigieg said about his time in Afghanistan as a Navy intelligence officer.

“They cared about whether I had selected the route with the fewest IED threats, not whether my father was documented or undocumented when he immigrated here," he said. "They cared about whether my M-4 was locked and loaded, not whether I was going home to a girlfriend or a boyfriend.”

Buttigieg spent the months after his exploratory committee launch crisscrossing the country, introducing himself to crowds in the early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, delivering a highly personal speech about how he wrestled with his sexual orientation, and taking shots at Vice President Mike Pence over his stances on gay marriage and LGBTQ equality.

He joins an exceptionally crowded field of candidates vying for his party's nomination. There are at least 14 major candidates in the race — 17 if you count three other semi-well known contenders — and almost half a dozen others who could still announce.

Democratic voters and politics watchers, however, have quickly taken notice of the millennial mayor, expressing admiration over his ability to speak seven languages, praising his intellectual ideas like “intergenerational justice,” and embracing a handful of ambitious policy proposals, like abolishing the electoral college.

Inside Studebaker Building 84 — which used to be a Studebaker car factory that closed in the 1960s but was repurposed as a tech and data hub by Buttigieg — several thousand supporters (some who traveled as far as California) gobbled up every word uttered by the former Rhodes scholar, frequently breaking out into raucous screams.

Hundreds of supporters were turned away from the event after it reached capacity, and chose instead to watch the event on a projection screen outside the building in freezing cold rain.

Before he delivered his speech, Buttigieg addressed the overflow crowd outside, telling them that “standing in the rain helping someone run for office is an act of hope.”

One of the attendees on Sunday, 57-year-old Terry Burns of Indianapolis, said Buttigieg “doesn’t seem like a typical politician, seems honest and thoughtful, would make a good level-headed president.”

His wife Lisa Burns, 61, said she thought it “would be nice to have some one smart in the White House for a change," adding, "I’ve already decided to support him and nothing can change that.”

The money has been coming in, too.

Earlier this month, Buttigieg announced that he’d raised more than $7 million since launching his exploratory committee — a whopping amount for an until-now-relative unknown figure and one that has put him ahead of everyone in the Democratic race in terms of total money raised, except Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Texas Rep Beto O’Rourke and California Sen. Kamala Harris.

Last week, a pair of polls put Buttigieg in third place in Iowa (a Monmouth University poll had him getting the support of 9 percent of likely caucus-goers, behind 16 percent for Sanders and 27 percent for former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to join the race later this month) and in New Hampshire (a Saint Anselm College poll showed him 11 percent, trailing Sanders, who got 16 percent, and Biden, who got 23 percent).

The speed of Buttigieg's ascent isn’t lost on the newly minted candidate.

“A month ago,” he joked during an appearance last week on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” "we were just trying to get people to say my name.”</s>SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Mayor Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj) of South Bend, Indiana, is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday in the city where he launched his…

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Mayor Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj) of South Bend, Indiana, is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday in the city where he launched his political career less than a decade ago.

The 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan war veteran has surged from a little-known local politician to a high-profile contender in the 2020 race. He grew up in South Bend and is in his second term as mayor.

Back in January, he announced a presidential exploratory committee — the first step toward an official candidacy.

Buttigieg is planning to return this week in early-voting Iowa and New Hampshire — but now as a full-fledged candidate who’s being taken more seriously.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Mayor Pete Buttigieg (BOO'-tuh-juhj) of South Bend, Indiana, is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday in the city where he launched his political career less than a decade ago.

The 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan war veteran has surged from a little-known local politician to a high-profile contender in the 2020 race. He grew up in South Bend and is in his second term as mayor.

Back in January, he announced a presidential exploratory committee — the first step toward an official candidacy.

Buttigieg is planning to return this week in early-voting Iowa and New Hampshire — but now as a full-fledged candidate who's being taken more seriously.</s>SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Pete Buttigieg, the little-known Indiana mayor who has risen to prominence in the early stages of the 2020 Democratic presidential race, made his official campaign entrance Sunday by claiming the mantle of youthful generation ready to reshape the country.

"I recognize the audacity of doing this as a Midwestern millennial mayor. More than a little bold, at age 37, to seek the highest office in the land," he said to cheers of "Pete, Pete, Pete" from an audience assembled in a former Studebaker auto plant.

The South Bend mayor, a Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan War veteran who has been exploring a White House run since January, has now joined a field of a dozen-plus rivals vying to take on President Donald Trump.

"The forces of change in our country today are tectonic," he said. "Forces that help to explain what made this current presidency even possible. That's why, this time, it's not just about winning an election — it's about winning an era."

Buttigieg will return this week to Iowa and New Hampshire, which hold the nation's first nominating contests, to campaign as a full-fledged candidate now being taken more seriously.

Over the past few months, Buttigieg has appeared frequently on national TV news and talk shows and developed a strong social media following with his message that the country needs "a new generation of leadership."

Pete Buttigieg announces that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a rally in South Bend, Ind., Sunday, April 14, 2019.

Buttigieg's poll numbers have climbed. Some polls put him behind only Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who sought the party's nomination in 2016, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet said he's running.

Buttigieg's campaign has raised more than $7 million in the first three months of this year, a total eclipsed by Sanders' leading $18 million but more than Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

"Right now, it's pretty fun," Buttigieg told The Associated Press last month while visiting South Carolina , where he was met by larger-than-expected crowds.

His challenge is finding a way to sustain the momentum over the long term and avoiding becoming a "flavor-of-the-month" candidate. Scrutiny of his leadership in South Bend has increased, as has his criticism of Vice President Gov. Mike Pence , who was Indian's governor when Buttigieg was in his first term as mayor.

Buttigieg would be the first openly gay nominee of a major presidential party; he married his husband, Chasten, last year. He would be the first mayor to go directly to the White House. And he would be the youngest person to become president, turning 39 the day before the next inauguration, on Jan. 20, 2021. Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when he took office, while John F. Kennedy was 43 and Bill Clinton 46.

Pete Buttigieg is joined by his husband Chasten Glezman before he announced that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a rally in South Bend, Ind., Sunday, April 14, 2019.

The campaign kickoff speech is expected to echo themes that have resonated with voters during Buttigieg's exploratory phase.

He talks often about how political decisions shape people's lives, including his own — from serving as a lieutenant in the Navy Reserve in 2014, to being able to marry his husband and to not having to worry about how to pay for his father's hospital bills after his father's death this year.

Buttigieg also says the best way for Democrats to defeat President Donald Trump may be to nominate a mayor experienced in helping to revive a Midwestern city once described as "dying," rather than a politician who has spent years "marinating" in Washington.

He has criticized Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again," saying the way to move the country forward is not to look backward or cling to nostalgia or an old way of life.

"There's a myth being sold to industrial and rural communities: the myth that we can stop the clock and turn it back," he said in the kickoff speak. "It comes from people who think the only way to reach communities like ours is through resentment and nostalgia, selling an impossible promise of returning to a bygone era that was never as great as advertised to begin with."

South Bend, which neighbors the University of Notre Dame, was hit hard by the decline of manufacturing, dating to the 1963 closing of the Studebaker auto plant that costs thousands of residents their jobs.

The hulking, dilapidated factory loomed over the city for much of the past 60 years as what Buttigieg called a daily reminder of South Bend's city's past. Partially remodeled, it's now a mixed-use mixed-use technology center outside downtown — and the setting for Bettigieg's announcement.

The South Bend fire marshal's office said the rally drew over 4,500 inside and 1,500 outside. A steady stream of raindrops fell on speakers on the stage through the leaky roof.

"I like that he's young. He's so relatable. He doesn't seem like a politician to me," said Tom Lacy, a 62-year-old retired who came from Peoria, Illinois, for the event with his wife, Candy, on their 35th wedding anniversary. "The contrast between him and our current president is unbelievable."

Nausher Ahmad Sial, a 68-year-old developer from South Bend, said the 2020 election is about the future of the country and "we need to try new blood."

Sial, who came to the U.S. from Pakistan 35 years ago, said he has worked with Buttigieg on development projects in the city and described the mayor as a "very honest, very fair guy."

This story has been corrected to reflect that Tom Lacy is 62, not 52.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announces that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination during a rally, Sunday, April 14, 2019, in South Bend, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)</s>SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Mayor Pete Buttigieg (BOO'-tuh-juhj) of South Bend, Indiana, is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday in the city where he launched his political career less than a decade ago.

The 37-year-old Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan war veteran has surged from a little-known local politician to a high-profile contender in the 2020 race. He grew up in South Bend and is in his second term as mayor.

Back in January, he announced a presidential exploratory committee - the first step toward an official candidacy.

Buttigieg is planning to return this week in early-voting Iowa and New Hampshire - but now as a full-fledged candidate who's being taken more seriously.

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2019, file photo, Mayor Pete Buttigieg talks with an Associated Press reporter at Farmers Market in South Bend, Ind. Buttigieg is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday, April 14, in the city where he launched his political career less than a decade ago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, of South Bend, Ind., smiles as he listens to a question during a stop in Raymond, N.H. Buttigieg is expected to make his Democratic run for president official during a rally later Sunday, April 14, in the city where he launched his political career less than a decade ago. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)</s>Pete Buttigieg is officially running for president. He kicked off his 2020 campaign for the Democratic nomination on Sunday after spending weeks touring early primary states and raising his media profile.

The 37-year-old, who is both openly gay and strongly Christian, made the announcement from an old Studebaker factory in South Bend, Indiana, where he has served as mayor since 2012.

“It is time to walk away from the politics of the past and toward something totally different,” Buttigieg told the crowd. “My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me ‘Mayor Pete.’ I am a proud son of South Bend, Indiana. And I am running for president of the United States.”

Buttigieg’s religious and LGBTQ identity has already helped him to stand out in the expanding field of Democratic contenders. The Midwestern military veteran also speaks seven foreign languages, earned himself a Rhodes Scholarship and knows his way around the guitar, harmonica and piano. (Once, he played with singer-songwriter Ben Folds.) His husband, Chasten Buttigieg, whom he married in 2018, is a very online 29-year-old taking a break from teaching junior high school to follow the campaign trail.

If elected president, “Mayor Pete” would be the first openly gay person and first millennial to take over the Oval Office.

“We live in a moment that compels us each to act,” Buttigieg said Sunday. “The forces changing our country today are tectonic. ... That’s why this time it’s not just about winning an election; it’s about winning an era.”

Last year, Buttigieg was a virtual unknown, still teaching people how to pronounce his last name (it’s BOOT-edge-edge). But recent polling indicates his popularity is on the rise in the key caucus state of Iowa: A Monmouth poll released Thursday put him just behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to officially announce his candidacy, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

As of Friday, Buttigieg’s campaign website had no “issues” section, focusing instead on the candidate’s personal story. In other forums, he has expressed support for several progressive causes, backing a single-payer health care system, criticizing the Electoral College and the death penalty, and generally appearing to favor a Green New Deal.

Buttigieg has sparked controversy among conservatives for calling out Vice President Mike Pence, a famously devout Christian, for failing to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s personal misconduct. As long as Pence looks the other way on Trump’s behavior while opposing same-sex marriage and other LGBTQ rights, the former Indiana governor’s moral authority is diminished, Buttigieg has argued. He has also admonished evangelical Christians for the “unbelievable hypocrisy” of their support for the president.

The candidate disputes that characterization. Appearing on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Friday morning, Buttigieg said, “I don’t have a problem with religion. I’m religious, too. I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people, especially the LGBTQ community.”</s>FILE PHOTO: Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg arrives for a campaign stop at Portsmouth Gas Light in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S., March 8, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

(Reuters) - Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has enjoyed a surge in opinion polls and a torrent of media coverage, will formally launch a bid on Sunday for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

The announcement in South Bend comes as little surprise. No potential contender in the burgeoning Democratic field has seen as rapid a rise in the early stages of the campaign as Buttigieg, who went from obscure Midwestern politician to top-tier contender in a matter of weeks.

At 37, Buttigieg will be the youngest entrant in a field that features 77-year-old U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and, likely soon, 76-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden - a contrast Buttigieg has emphasized in campaign events.

The man known as "Mayor Pete" has styled himself as the voice of the millennial generation, often talking about what the United States might look like decades from now. He is the first openly gay major presidential candidate, which has given him inroads into a Democratic base that increasingly values diversity and progressivism.

As mayor of South Bend since 2012, he has presided over an economic turnaround that has brought new investment into the struggling northwestern Indiana industrial town, an achievement likely to be a central plank of his presidential campaign.

Polls of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire released last week showed Buttigieg in third place in both early-voting states, although still well behind Biden and Sanders. Buttigieg raised $7 million in the first quarter of the year, surpassing more established rivals such as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

More than a dozen Democrats have announced a run for the chance to take on President Donald Trump, a Republican, in the November 2020 general election. Democratic voters will begin the process of selecting a nominee in a series of contests beginning early next year.

A former Rhodes Scholar, consultant for the firm McKinsey and Co and U.S. Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan, Buttigieg has the kind of background that could appeal to both moderates and progressives in the party.

But questions will persist about whether the mayor of an Indiana city of 100,000 residents is ready to run a nation of 330 million.

Buttigieg talks about his faith more frequently than many Democrats on the campaign trail. That recently brought him into direct conflict with Vice President Mike Pence, a former governor of Indiana.

At a lesbian, gay and transgender rights group event in Washington last week, Buttigieg made headlines when he argued that being gay was not a choice.

“That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pences of the world would understand: that if you’ve got a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

Pence answered the criticism in an interview with CNN, saying “I hope Pete will offer more to the American people than attacks on my Christian faith or attacks on the president as he seeks the highest office in the land.”</s>SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A big announcement is expected Sunday by South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg.No mayor has ever been voted president directly from city hall, but that could change as he makes his 2020 White House bid official.Buttigieg has been meeting with voters across the country over that past few months and has released a campaign video. He is also already one of the top fundraisers in a crowded field of Democratic candidates, raising more than $7 million for his campaign.The 37-year-old Navy veteran could become the youngest and first openly gay U.S. President.
Pete Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announces he is running for the Democratic Party's nomination to be President of the United States in the 2020 presidential election.