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Staff report
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Former U.S. Transportation Secretary and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met with local Democrats Thursday at the newly opened Monroe County Democratic Party headquarters in Bloomington.
Video of his remarks:
Buttigieg, who served as mayor of South Bend before joining President Joe Biden’s cabinet, spoke briefly to party members and supporters, then took time to shake hands, listen to local concerns, sign autographs, and pose for photos. An aide said he would not be taking questions from the press during the visit.
Earlier in the day, Buttigieg appeared at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis, where Democrats gathered to oppose Republican Gov. Mike Braun’s expected push for a special legislative session this fall. The governor has signaled that he may call lawmakers back in November to consider a new congressional redistricting plan that could give Republicans control of all nine U.S. House seats in Indiana.
State Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, who attended the Statehouse event, said Buttigieg and other speakers urged Democrats to stay engaged and organized.
“They talked about the importance of speaking out and pushing back, and not just accepting it as a fait accompli,” Pierce said. “This kind of gerrymandering doesn’t match Hoosier values. It’s not fair play.”
Pierce said Braun is under pressure from former President Donald Trump and national Republicans to act on redistricting, but added that the governor “could stop all this talk just by saying it’s not going to happen.”
Buttigieg’s visit to Bloomington also included a sold-out evening appearance at Indiana University as part of the Union Board’s “Speaking of Excellence” lecture series, presented in partnership with the IU LGBTQ+ Culture Center. The event was closed to media coverage, with restrictions on photography and video.
Buttigieg, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and is widely viewed as a potential candidate for higher office in the future, highlighted his career during the IU lecture series announcement. He served as transportation secretary from 2021 to 2025, overseeing more than 70,000 infrastructure projects nationwide, and previously served in the U.S. Navy Reserve, deploying to Afghanistan in 2014.
presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg visits the Monroe County
Democratic Party Headquarters during its soft opening on September 18,
2025. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend and U.S. Secretary of
Transportation, is in Indiana to campaign against Indiana Governor
Mike Braun’s proposed electoral redistricting plan. Braun has
indicated he may call a special legislative session as early as
November. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg visits the Monroe County
Democratic Party Headquarters during its soft opening on September 18,
2025. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend and U.S. Secretary of
Transportation, is in Indiana to campaign against Indiana Governor
Mike Braun’s proposed electoral redistricting plan. Braun has
indicated he may call a special legislative session as early as
November. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg visits the Monroe County
Democratic Party Headquarters during its soft opening on September 18,
2025. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend and U.S. Secretary of
Transportation, is in Indiana to campaign against Indiana Governor
Mike Braun’s proposed electoral redistricting plan. Braun has
indicated he may call a special legislative session as early as
November. (Photo by Jeremy Hogan/The Bloomingtonian)
The post Buttigieg meets with local Democrats in Bloomington, speaks in Indianapolis on redistricting first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.
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