Indiana Mayor Enters Race for DNC Chair, Calling for ‘Fresh Start’ for Party

“I see our party needing a fresh start,” Mr. Buttigieg said in a video announcing his candidacy. “Right now, as Democrats, we are at our lowest level of national, state and local influence in nearly a century. It’s time to make a new plan for our future.”

He is referring to the broader political problem facing the Democratic Party as it prepares to choose a new chairman in February. Not only did their presidential nominee Hillary Clinton suffer a stunning defeat by Republican Donald Trump in November; the party is also suffering from a big loss of power in state legislatures and governorships over the last decade.

Like all of the candidates for DNC chair, Mr. Buttigieg is little known nationally. But he has an eye-catching resume: He is a gay former Rhodes Scholar and Navy veteran in his second term as mayor in a deep red state. President Barack Obama recently mentioned him when discussing up and coming Democratic politicians in an interview with the New Yorker.

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