- Buttigieg, 44, became a national political figure without following the usual path.
- He ran for president in 2020 as a small-town mayor and won the Iowa caucus by offering an optimistic vision and impressing voters with his communication skills, including in hostile environments.
Driving the news: In early 2025, Democratic lawmakers and strategists, including New York Sen. Chuck Schumer and former Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, urged Buttigieg — who had moved to Michigan — to run for office in his new state.
- Winning such a position, they argued, would help Buttigieg build his resume for a future term in the White House and give him a chance to distance himself from the unpopular Biden administration.
- Buttigieg was elected, citing both his desire to stay home more with his husband and young twins, and believing he could still get his message across without being in the Senate.
- Instead, he set out to build a broader national network among Democrats — particularly among black voters in the South, where he had struggled in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Buttigieg traveled to 37 states since leaving the Biden administration, Politico reported last week.
- Democratic candidates in key districts and states, welcomed him to campaign for them this year while resisting offers from other potential presidential candidates such as former Vice President Kamala Harris, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
- Many Democrats see Buttigieg as a surrogate who can attract attention and crowds without the degree of negative attention that other prominent Democrats attract.
- Buttigieg will also campaign in key elections in the final weeks before the Nov. 3 election. He is expected to visit Michigan and Virginia, which will host early contests in the 2028 presidential primary.
Between the lines: Buttigieg has tried to position himself as a next-generation candidate who also has enough executive branch experience to be able to deliver on his promises.
- He’s betting that the traditional ladder for running for president — first becoming senator, governor or vice president — no longer applies, especially after the Trump era.
What they say: Buttigieg “knows what no one else on the Democratic side does, which is what it really means to run for this office: the pace and the pressures and the imperatives,” David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Obama and Buttigieg’s outside adviser, told Axios.
- “At a time when the party and the country are looking for young people and a forward-looking vision, he has the ability to express them in a powerful way,” Axelrod added.
- Axelrod said that if Buttigieg runs, “it will be because he feels the time is right for someone like him, and the big mission is more compelling than the statewide races he’s been in.”
A Buttigieg spokesperson said that “when Pete decided not to run for office in Michigan, he promised he would still get to work helping candidates everywhere. That’s exactly what he did.”
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