South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced Monday his presidential exploratory committee has raised more than $7 million since its launch in January.

“This is just a preliminary analysis, but our team’s initial report shows we raised over $7 million dollars in Q1 of this year. We (you) are out-performing expectations at every turn. I’ll have a more complete analysis later, but until then: a big thank you to all our supporters,” the Indiana Democrat tweeted.

Mr. Buttigieg has yet to officially enter the race.

The mayor joined a crowded Democratic presidential race with little name recognition, but his grassroots campaign has gained more traction, leading to him getting fifth in a recent poll.

Mr. Buttigieg said Saturday on WSBT in Indiana he has “enormous respect” for 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, adding he thinks “America would be a much better place if she were president.”

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