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(CNSNews.com) - The past is prologue for South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who says he's got something in common with the last three Democrats to actually win the White House -- Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Recent polls show Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg leading the Democrat pack in Iowa -- with Sanders rising to the top.

On Monday, Buttigieg was asked what separates "a young mayor from South Bend" from politicians as established as former Vice President Biden or longtime Sen. Bernie Sanders.

"Well, I think, again, it's the opportunity to turn the page and it's the imperative to win," Buttigieg responded:

Remember, in the last half century, every single time the Democratic Party has captured the White House, certain things have been true about the nominee, without exception. It's been somebody who is new on the national scene, hasn't run for president before, does not have an office in Washington or hasn't had it for very long, and is opening the door to a new generation of leadership. That has been true 100 percent of the time when we have won. So we need to think about that in order to be sure that we defeat Donald Trump. And the great thing about that, is that means turning the page, moving to the future for the purpose of governing is not only compatible with winning, it's the best strategy. Now, my job over the next week is to get that message out, so we're going to continue having those encounters with voters, we're on the air waves, our organizers and volunteers are pounding the ground. I also very much need a fund-raising surge right now to be sure we can power through the tape.

Buttigieg stressed the importance of defeating President Donald Trump:

"What we know for sure is, we're not going to be able to defeat Donald Trump by recycling the same political mindset that brought us to this point. What I'm offering is something completely different, and I am insisting that what it takes to govern is also what it's going to take to win.

"I am the best candidate to do that, to turn the page, to move us into a different future. And that's such a priority right now, knowing that this is our one shot, our only shot, to defeat this president."

Buttigieg -- who was not a household name when he announced his presidential campaign -- rejected the notion that his time will come in future years:

The things I'm talking about can't wait four years, they can't wait eight years. The next president is going to face challenges that are different in kind from anything we that faced in past years or past decades. Not only do we have the kind of conventional security threats, for example, that we've been faced with for a long time, the kind of things I worked on in the military, but we're looking at global health security challenges, climate security challenges. Right Here at home, we're dealing with impact of technology on our democracy as well as on our economy. We've got to be equipped to deal with these issues that are upon us now, that are changing the nature of our politics, that have thrown us into a kind of disarray, I think in our political and societal life in the United States, and it can't wait. We've to get on top of this quickly. And my campaign is about a view to the future, the ability to turn the page and deal with those things, and at risk of repeating myself until I am blue in the face, that is the best way to win against a president, the likes of which we have not seen in my lifetime.





