SOUTH BEND, Ind. — An exploratory committee has been formed to help South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg look into a possible run for the White House in 2020.
Whether he plans to officially run is still up in the air, but Buttigieg said Tuesday if the conditions are right he plans to build a presidential campaign on three pillars: Freedom, Democracy, and Security.
“I think all three of those have a lot of policy weight to them. The case here is simple. It’s time for a new generation of leadership in our country,” Buttigieg said. “What I do think we need to do is bring new ideas to the table. I don’t think we can have a restoration of the old way.”
Buttigieg clarifies that he does not plan to tell older, more experienced Democrats in Washington to get our of dodge to make way for this “new generation.”
Some critical issues he said he supports are single-payer healthcare, a woman’s right to an abortion, and he is also for the government not infringing to much on your personal freedoms.
“The bottom line is, everyone should be able to get healthcare,” Buttigieg added. “I think everybody agrees on that. We don’t have to make it that complicated as a principle.”
Buttigieg joins a growing field of Democrats who are mulling over a presidential run such as Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Kamala Harris of California.
He said a key advantage he believes he has is the fact that he is the only potential candidate that is “living a middle class lifestyle in middle America,” which he said may make him more relatable not just to Hoosiers but other middle class Americans.
(PHOTO: The Washington Post/Getty Images)
