SOUTH BEND, Ind.– The identify Pete Buttigieg is making its rounds in political circles as folks query who will run with Vice President Kamala Harris if she certainly will get the presidential nomination from the Democratic occasion.
Buttigieg serves on President Joe Biden’s cupboard as Secretary of Transportation. He is what’s referred to as a surrogate for Biden; he was a significant a part of his reelection marketing campaign.
After Biden dropped out of the presidential contest, Buttigieg was fast with a response thanking Biden for his service and placing the nation first.
He was additionally fast to endorse Harris, releasing the next assertion:
“Joe Biden has earned his place among the many greatest and most consequential presidents in our historical past. Individuals are a lot better off due to his management and accomplishments. He all the time places our nation first, as he demonstrated immediately, and I do know he’ll proceed to take action for the remainder of his time period.
Kamala Harris is now the fitting particular person to take up the torch, defeat Donald Trump, and succeed Joe Biden as President. I’ve seen her extraordinary management firsthand, working carefully together with her throughout the 2020 marketing campaign after which within the traditionally efficient Biden-Harris administration. I’ll do all that I can to assist her win this election to guide America ahead as our subsequent President.”
Frequent Council Member Troy Warner met Buttigieg within the late 2000s in South Bend’s Democratic occasion scene.
“I keep in mind again then, you realize, folks would meet Pete they usually have been like, ‘wow, this younger man is clever, he is properly spoken, he has ardour and compassion for folks,'” Warner mentioned.
He was solely in his late 20s on the time.
“You’d all the time hear loads of comparisons between him and Barack Obama,” Warner mentioned.
A South Bend native, he first ran for state treasurer in 2010 and misplaced, however the very subsequent 12 months ran for mayor of South Bend and received.
“He was highly regarded when he was mayor, he had an enormous following,” mentioned Diana Hess, St. Joseph County Democratic Celebration chair.
“We knew, then, that Pete was going locations past simply Mayor of South Bend,” Warner mentioned.
So it was no shock, then, when Buttigieg ran for president in 2020.
“The actually cool half was he made South Bend the middle level of his presidential marketing campaign 4 years in the past,” Warner mentioned.
South Bend Frequent Council President Sharon McBride mentioned throughout his tenure as mayor, Buttigieg remodeled town, particularly downtown.
“Working with Mayor Pete was an honor,” she mentioned. “Serving with him on the council, we acquired rather a lot completed within the metropolis, after all, with the revitalization of South Bend. , they labeled us as a dying metropolis and he rejuvenated it.”
Buttigieg named her nationwide co-chair on his presidential marketing campaign, so she’s thrilled to listen to his identify thrown out for a VP choose.
“Properly, he is very properly certified and he would positively have my help, that might be nice,” McBride mentioned.
Buttigieg finally ended his 2020 presidential marketing campaign and was later appointed by Biden to function Secretary of Transportation.
His political success just isn’t with out its share of scandal, such because the ousting of South Bend’s first Black police chief. That tried firing got here after Buttigieg cited issues of a federal investigation happening into personal police tapes, the place racist and probably unlawful conversations occurred. 13 years later, the tapes have by no means been heard by the general public.
Hess mentioned she would not know if Buttigieg will get the spot, however says typically, Democrats are able to help the ticket no matter who it’s in a presidential race towards Donald Trump.
“He is one of the articulate, good messengers I feel the occasion has proper now,” Hess mentioned. “He is excellent. He can go on Fox Information, he can go on MSNBC, he can discuss to anybody and I simply suppose he is probably the greatest messengers we’ve.”
South Bend Mayor James Mueller joined 250 mayors throughout the nation Monday to endorse Kamala Harris, saying she has many nice choices to select from for VP, together with Buttigieg.
