Austin, Texas (CNN) Pete Buttigieg's sharp attacks on a former home-state political rival temporarily shifted the spotlight away from better-known candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential field and onto one of its least-known contenders.

Buttigieg entered Sunday's CNN town hall as a longshot -- sitting at 1% in Iowa and New Hampshire, recent polls have shown. He's such an unknown that how to say his Maltese last name is still a common question. When moderator Jake Tapper asked Buttigieg which of two options was the correct pronunciation ("BOOT-edge-edge" or "buddha-judge"), Buttigieg said either option worked and that at home, he just goes by "Mayor Pete."

At the close of the hour-long town hall on Sunday -- his first extended appearance with a national television audience -- Democrats were saying they wanted to hear more from the former Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan veteran.

Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has long been seen as a political talent in Indiana -- but one without a natural next step to take. He lives in a heavily Republican congressional district and in a state where Democrats are longshots -- a reality Buttigieg learned during a 2010 bid for state treasurer.

He ran for chairman of the Democratic National Committee in late 2016 and early 2017, but -- facing the reality that Tom Perez and then-Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison were the only contenders with a chance of winning -- dropped out on the day of the election, before any ballots were cast.

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