Politics / Pete Buttigieg 2020 Pete Buttigieg Has Bad News for Campaign Staff The 2020 candidate is dropping out By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted Mar 1, 2020 4:30 PM CST Copied Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg walks to speaks with members of the media, Sunday, March 1, 2020, in Plains, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Democrat Pete Buttigieg is ending his campaign for president. Three people with knowledge of Buttigieg’s decision tell the AP he is informing campaign staff. They were not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity. His campaign says Buttigieg will speak Sunday night in South Bend, Indiana. Buttigieg rose to the field's top tier but failed to notch enough wins in the critical early states necessary to keep his bid moving forward. The millennial, Afghan War veteran, and former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, defied expectations in a field of better-known candidates for months while becoming the first openly gay top contender for a major party nomination. "Mayor Pete" burst onto the scene with a blitz of national media a year ago and impressive fundraising. He leaned hard into a next-generation message of urgency on pressing issues while preaching a message of hope and inclusion. (More Pete Buttigieg 2020 stories.) Get breaking news in your inbox. What you need to know, as soon as we know it. Sign up Report an error