2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg rang in 2020 with a new title as former mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
Buttigieg’s term as mayor of South Bend ended Wednesday, Jan. 1. He announced in 2018 that he would not run for re-election and hand-picked his successor, James Mueller, Axios reported.
“Final quiet moments. End of an era. Onward,” Buttigieg’s chief of staff Laura O’Sullivan tweeted Wednesday.
As of this hour, @PeteButtigieg is now the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He is succeeded by James Mueller, his former chief of staff and high school friend, who was elected in November.
Buttigieg heads to New Hampshire tomorrow. https://t.co/YLNbEA8kKt
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) January 1, 2020
Mueller was endorsed by Buttigieg in February 2019 and won the city’s Democratic nomination in May, according to Axios. Mueller was formerly Buttigieg’s chief of staff and was elected to the new position in November.
Buttigieg’s new title will allow him to have more time to campaign in the crowded presidential race. He took time off of the campaign trail in June after protests broke out in South Bend when an officer shot a black man. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: Buttigieg Said The Founding Fathers ‘Did Not Understand That Slavery Was A Bad Thing’)
The former South Bend mayor rose in a few November polls, although former Vice President Joe Biden remained in the lead, CNBC previously reported.