Mayor Pete Buttigieg formally kicks off bid for White House

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, an underdog in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary race who’s seen an uptick in support, formally entered the contest Sunday during an event in the city he leads.

“It is time to walk away from the politics of the past, and toward something totally different,” Buttigieg, 37, told thousands inside a former Studebaker car assembly plant in South Bend, Ind. “My name is Pete Buttigieg. They call me Mayor Pete. I am a proud son of South Bend ... And I am running for president of the United States.”

The mayor is the 18th Democrat to officially declare a White House candidacy and would be the youngest and first openly gay U.S. president, if elected.

Buttigieg has held his current post since 2012 and oversees a northern Indiana community of about 102,000 people.