The Long Road To President Pete

He has captivated millions despite no national governing experience, vague policy positions and zero Twitter feuds with the president. Can Mayor Pete sustain his momentum through debate season?

- Alex Thomas

Nine days before Pete Buttigieg officially declared his bid for the White House, a woman approached the South Bend, Indiana mayor as he was waiting to board a flight to Manchester, New Hampshire, his third trip to the state since announcing his presidential exploratory committee in January. “She said, ‘Everyone’s coming up to you and saying hello,’ ” Buttigieg tells PLAYBOY. “And I said, ‘Well, yeah, it’s campaign season.’ She said, ‘Oh, what channel are you a reporter for?’ ”

He says that the encounter had been “a reminder that there are lots of people we need to reach — and also that we need to make sure this is a project of substance. Substance is key to outliving the flavor-of-the-month period.”

Buttigieg’s campaign raised an impressive $7 million in the first quarter of 2019, bolstered by a March town hall on CNN that resulted in more than 22,000 donations within 24 hours. Soon after, Buttigieg’s team was negotiating a televised town hall with Fox News, perhaps because that woman at the airport watches Fox News. Indeed, if she watched any other network — MSNBC at night, whoever airs Ellen during the day, CNN at any hour — she would have recognized the 37-year-old who has become the most unexpected and fascinating candidate in the 2020 contest.

This June, at the first Democratic primary debate in Miami, Buttigieg is expected to cross swords with as many as 19 competitors. Millions will tune in. Should he perform mildly well, anyone faintly interested in politics will know Mayor Pete’s last name — and, finally, how to pronounce its trio of syllables. (It’s boot-edgeedge.) Should he perform above average, he could wipe out half the field overnight. Buttigieg knows this is the advantage his rising-star status offers.