This report was written by Wadsworth High School journalism student Brianna Becerra who was one of several members of the school’s newspaper staff to attend the Iowa Caucus. There, students met and interviewed Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

The race for the 2020 Democratic nomination was hot in Iowa late last week and early this week as voters and caucus-goers fought for their candidate of choice. Out of the original 29 candidates that announced their run for the Oval Office, only nine remained for the Iowa event.

Pete Buttigieg, the dark horse of this election cycle, was in a close race for a victory in Iowa.

Thirty-eight-year-old Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced his candidacy in April 2019.

He is a graduate of Harvard University as well as a veteran of the Navy, surviving a deployment to Afghanistan in 2014. Buttigieg is challenging the precedent of the presidency by being the first openly gay Democratic candidate.

Buttigieg’s friends and family have described him as an intelligent, genuine young man with a passion for politics. Close friend and mayor of Dayton, Nan Whaley, has thrown every ounce of her support behind Buttigieg’s campaign. At a Buttigieg rally in Iowa, she told a personal story about how he taught himself Hebrew in a week, demonstrating his intelligence level.

"He is the smartest person I’ve ever met," Whaley said. "He is just so darn smart."

Buttigieg’s mother-in-law, Sherri Glezman, has been with him all through his campaign. She told the rally crowc about how heartwarming it has been to see the support for Buttigieg grow and the outpouring of love that her son, Chasten, has received as well.

"The best thing about it is to see the rest of America fall in love with Chasten and Pete as much as we’ve been in love with them already for years," Glezman said.

Buttigieg’s campaign has placed an emphasis on values that extend far beyond policy and legislation. Campaign volunteers called the Barnstormers distributed cards that carry the "Rules of the Road" of his platform: respect, belonging, truth, teamwork, boldness, responsibility, substance, discipline, excellence and joy. These adjectives match up with the words that friends and family have used to describe him.

His lack of experience in D.C. has caused some to question whether he is qualified to be the president of the United States. Whaley came to bat for her friend again, saying that the critics simply do not understand what it takes to be a mayor.

"I think that mayor to president is the best jump," argued Whaley. "He knows how important community is. His policies are really about giving more support to local communities."

The policies that Buttigieg has prioritized include equal justice for all, health sector reforms, strengthening the middle class and lessening the effects of climate change. These ideas label him as a moderate Democrat.

His Feb. 2 rally at a local Des Moines high school was filled with volunteers and supporters. His most fervent supporters stood on risers behind the stage decked out from head to toe "Pete 2020" gear and led chants while frantically waving their signs.

He set aside during the rally to answer questions from the crowd. Wadsworth High School senior Anna Wolfinger had her question drawn from a fishbowl overflowing with other inquiries. Her question was in regards to his plans to address climate change.

"We need an actual national project to confront climate change," answered Buttigieg. "This cannot be a political tug-of-war. This is too important and existential."

At the conclusion of the rally, some family and friends joined Buttigieg on stage to thank his supporters. Chasten and Pete then made their rounds, greeting and snapping pictures with folks in the crowd.

"I feel like a Jonas Brother," said Chasten Buttigieg while greeting a supporter.

While he was meeting supporters, Pete Buttigieg was interviewed briefly by Chris Steele, another Wadsworth High School senior. Steele had not expected Buttigieg to answer his question about the importance of young voters.

"Here is my outreach and my message to younger generations," Buttigieg said. "The longer you are going to be here, the more stake you have in the choices that are going to be made around climate, around gun violence, and around making sure the economy works for us.

"We have to make sure we are acting now. We are running out of time and we need to build a multi-generation coalition. You need to spread the message and be part of that change."

As Buttigieg’s support continues to grow, his family’s pride in him and his work grows as well. Sherri Glezman said her son-in-law has earned all of the recognition that he has been given.

"To see everybody else follow their kindness, how humble they are, to have everybody else also join in on that bandwagon," said Glezman. "That’s been the most wonderful thing about it so far."

The so-called underdog of the 2020 election has proven to have a sturdy base of supporters, earning him what may be the first win of this election season. There is no telling where Buttigieg will go from here, an Iowa victory will make him the contender of the moment for the Democratic nomination.