SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tah-juhj) says he’s taking steps toward running for president.
In a video and email announcement obtained by The Associated Press, the 37-year-old Democrat says he’s launching an exploratory committee for a 2020 bid.
Buttigieg has touted his work to revitalize South Bend as he’s prepared for an improbable jump from local politics to a presidential campaign. He says in a video: “Our country needs a fresh start.”
Elected mayor in 2011, he was re-elected in 2015 with 80 percent of the vote. He raised his national profile with an unsuccessful 2017 run for Democratic National Committee chairman.
Buttigieg is a Rhodes scholar and Navy Reserve lieutenant who served in Afghanistan. He’s openly gay and married his husband last year.