Nearly 1,000 people packed into a music venue Wednesday night and hundreds more at a sold-out fundraiser Thursday to hear from the latest Democratic presidential candidate to make a stop in Nashville: Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Buttigieg has emerged as a top-tier candidate in the race while being up against longtime Democratic politicians like Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Buttigieg is the fourth 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful to visit Music City this year, following former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke last week, Biden in May and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in April.

"My candidacy could not have happened 10 years ago, nor could my marriage, nor could my military service," said Buttigieg, an openly gay man who married his husband, Chasten, last year.

Buttigieg, who is vocal about his Christian faith, told the crowd gathered that he wasn't afraid make faith and values part of his campaign, "proving and asserting that God does not belong to a political party."

"Values," Buttigieg said, "no longer belongs to one side of the aisle.”

The former Navy Reserve officer, who in 2014 deployed to Afghanistan, talked about the need to improve national security, including addressing climate change and "the security threat posed by violent white nationalism that needs to be named, not coddled," Buttigieg said.

Improving public education by immediately replacing the federal education secretary, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and focusing on policies to diminish racial inequality are all platforms of Buttigieg's campaign that he shared with audiences Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The first event was a rally held at Cannery Ballroom, while a fundraiser to benefit the Davidson County Democratic Party on Thursday morning featured Buttigieg, where he spoke at City Winery.

In Tennessean interview, Buttigieg talks reaching rural America

In an interview with The Tennessean Wednesday afternoon, Buttigieg talked about how reaching rural America would be a necessary component of his campaign.

When asked about his plan to combat the opioid epidemic affecting places like rural Tennessee, Buttigieg noted that it had reached his state, too. As mayor, he is currently part of a lawsuit targeting some pharmaceutical companies.

"It's a huge problem where I come from, too," Buttigieg said.

Increasing resources for medication-assisted therapy, understanding that "criminalizing addiction is not the answer," and holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for suppressing information on the addicting power of their substances are among Buttigieg's suggestion to deal with the problem of deadly opioid addiction.

"If we put the resources into it, we can reverse the explosion of opioid addiction," Buttigieig said. "It means moving away from a kind of 20th century mentality."

Buttigieg, who is a Democratic politician in a largely red state, came to Tennessee on Wednesday from events in Missouri.

He said that while his campaign's focus is certainly on early primary states, Buttigieg does intend to spent time in rural areas.

"I do think there are a lot of opportunities to talk to rural America at a moment when they're being let down by this president," Buttigieg said, specifically citing tariffs that are "killing a lot of farmers" and decreasing access to health care services.

"Even in a county when Democrats might not win, it really matters if it's 60-40 or it's 80-20."

On how he plans to convince rural voters who in 2016 cast ballots for President Donald Trump to vote for him this time around, Buttigieg suggested that moral conduct could also come into play.

"Voters who are guided by religious principles need to know they have a choice," he said.

People of faith "don't have to stand with a president whose personal life flies in the face of what faith teaches us about how to conduct ourselves," Buttigieg said.

He was introduced by longtime friend and fellow Harvard University alumnus state Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville.

Prior to Yarbro and Buttigieg taking the stage, the audience heard from Stephanie Teatro and Cesar Bautista from the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition — a group that also held a round table discussion with O'Rourke last week — along with Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Metro Nashville council member Nancy VanReece.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com. Follow her on Twitter at @natalie_allison.

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