Pete Buttigieg is raking in the Obama bucks

As supporters of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg compare him favorably to former President Barack Obama, he's now earning donations from some key Obama administration officials.

Buttigieg during the first quarter of 2019 received financial support from five former members of the Obama administration, per U.S. News & World Report, one being former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. His $250 donation is particularly interesting considering he served as communications director for former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to announce a White House bid any day now.

The South Bend mayor also received donations from former national security adviser Susan Rice, former deputy senior adviser Stephanie Cutter, former National Security Council spokesman Ned Price, and former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy. They donated between $500 and $1,250, with Price giving the most.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Carney, Price, Rice, and Kennedy didn't comment for U.S. News' story, although Cutter said that while she hasn't chosen a candidate yet, "Mayor Pete inspired me." She said she will likely support a number of candidates in the race, but she only donated to Buttigieg in the first quarter of 2019.

Buttigieg has been riding a wave of momentum ever since launching a White House bid that was initially considered to be a long shot, raising an impressive $7 million in the first quarter of the year and in a recent Emerson poll coming in third place behind only Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Biden, per The Hill. Buttigieg told CNN on Tuesday he didn't want to be regarded as a "flash in the pan" but now has "outlived the flavor of the month period."