Pete Buttigieg greets guests at a luncheon hosted by the City Club of Chicago on Thursday. "This is a marathon. We have a long way to go.” Buttigieg said of the Democratic presidential primary race. | Scott Olson/Getty Images 2020 elections Buttigieg says he’s not peaking too soon

CHICAGO — Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Ind., mayor who has surged into prominence in the Democratic presidential primary, insisted Thursday that he wasn’t in danger of peaking too soon.

“It's not like we're in first place,” he told reporters after addressing businesspeople and local politicians at a City Club of Chicago event. “While I'm thrilled with the fact that we are obviously running ahead of a lot of our competitors — we’ve gotten a lot of favorable attention, and our organization is growing more and more strong in terms of recruiting and finance — it doesn't take away from the fact that this is a long run. This is a marathon. We have a long way to go.


“We are frankly ahead of where I had hoped to be, but now we are right where I want to be,” he added.

Buttigieg, who opened a Chicago campaign office in part because of the proximity to South Bend, has quickly attracted the attention of the Windy City's donor class, including previous bundlers for former President Barack Obama.

On Thursday night, Buttigieg will attend a private fundraiser at a Lakeview home that quickly sold out and exceeded its $250,000 goal, a person familiar with the event said.

Buttigieg acknowledged that his rise came quickly and that the campaign has to head into the next phase of showing organizational strength on the ground. That will include staffing up in early-primary states, he said.

“It's one thing to have a nice poll number and a good day of press clips. What we really need is that on-the-ground, unglamorous blocking and tackling work, especially in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada,” Buttigieg said. “You’ll see that being our organizational and tactical focus going forward.”