Pete Buttigieg officially announces 2020 campaign

Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, formally entered the 2020 presidential race on Sunday.

Should he win the Democratic nomination and the general election, he would become the youngest-ever and first openly gay president. In front of a crowd of thousands in South Bend, Buttigieg touted some of his accomplishments, including reviving the city's downtown, and hit back against politicians peddling false hope. "There is a myth being sold to industrial and rural communities," he said. "The myth that we can stop the clock and turn it back. 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."

Buttigieg also spoke about security, democracy, freedom, and the state of the country. "The horror show in Washington is mesmerizing, all-consuming," he said. "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." An Afghanistan War veteran and Rhodes Scholar, Buttigieg launched his presidential exploratory committee in January, and has already raised more than $7 million.

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