Mayor Pete Buttigeig of South Bend, Indiana, did not make it to the voting process, announcing during his nomination speech that he would be exiting the race. Buttigeig, 35, built a national profile as an emerging dark horse in the race for the chairmanship with the backing of former DNC Chairman Howard Dean.
“I want to thank my competitors for their graciousness beginning the day I got into this race — proving what unites us is greater than our divisions,” Buttigeig said.
“It looks like I’m not going to be the next chair,” he added. “But whoever is, I am urging to do the things that must be done to be open to change, to look beyond Washington, to not treat the presidency like it’s the only office that matters, to pay attention to communities like ours in the heart of our country — not as an exotic species — but as your fellow Americans.”
The former Naval intelligence officer campaigned on the idea that the aging Democratic Party needed to empower its millennial members.
The 447 members of the Democratic National Committee will vote Saturday morning, gathering in a ballroom to cast their ballots for chair and other party officer positions.
