- Pete Buttigieg, Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has announced that he has launched an exploratory committee for the 2020 presidential elections.
- Buttigieg, 37, is an Afghanistan war veteran. The Harvard graduate is also a former Rhodes Scholar and openly gay.
- He has served as South Bend's mayor since 2012. Last year, he announced that he would not seek a third term as mayor, sparking rumors of a presidential run.
- In his announcement video, Buttigieg said that the US needs a "fresh start" and said it needed to focus on a "new generation."
Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has joined the presidential race.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Buttigieg said he has launched a presidential exploratory committee "because it is a season for boldness and it is time to focus on the future."
The news is not a huge surprise — many Democrats have been awaiting Buttigieg's presidential announcement since the day he said he wouldn't run for a third term as South Bend's mayor.
Though he has never held statewide office, Buttigieg gained a national profile following a failed bid for Democratic National Committee chairman in 2017.
The Navy veteran is a Harvard graduate and Rhodes scholar, as well as the first openly gay executive in Indiana.
—Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) January 23, 2019
