In a rally that seemed to gain momentum even over the course of the hourlong program, Buttigieg trumpeted his usual message of unity, saying a vote for him is a step toward bringing the country together after four divisive years of President Trump. But as usual, he spent less of his speech bemoaning Trump than telling people to look toward the future.

NASHUA, N.H. — Pete Buttigieg spoke on Sunday morning to a boisterous crowd of more than 1,800 people in an echoey middle school gymnasium. The campaign called it the largest crowd any candidate has drawn in New Hampshire this cycle.


“This is our only chance not just to bring an end to the Trump presidency, but to launch the era that must come next,” Buttigieg said, mentioning gun violence and climate change as two main issues he would confront.

Many voters this weekend have said they were considering other candidates — like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren because she is a woman, or former vice president Joe Biden because of his long political history and association with Barack Obama — but have now come around to the idea that Buttigieg might be the electable moderate they need to beat Trump.

Many said they now worry that Biden is too frail, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders too extreme, and Warren or Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, with lackluster performances in Iowa, too unsafe a bet.

Buttigieg seemed to be capitalizing on this sentiment among the crowd.

“I am seeing Democrats standing together, I’m seeing independents refusing to sit on the sidelines, I’m even running into an awful lot of what I like to call future former Republicans, who are absolutely welcome in this movement,” he said to cheers.

He was interrupted numerous times with cheers of "BOOT-EDGE-EDGE" and "President Pete!"

Pete Buttigieg spoke at Elm Street Middle School Sunday in Nashua, N.H. Win McNamee/Getty

Even as more people seem to be confident about casting their support to him, he still faces criticism that he is too young and too inexperienced because he has never held national office.


Buttigieg defended his experience as the mayor of South Bend, Ind., a town of about 100,000 people, something he has done more lately after attacks from Biden that paint him as inexperienced.

He said the experience of being mayor, where interactions with citizens are much more personal and where the budget must be balanced because there is no luxury of a federal deficit, is more valuable.

Buttigieg said some people say “you’re not even from one of the biggest cities in the United States."

“To which I say, ‘That is very much the point,'” he said.

Filling the stands and pressing together on the slick wooden floors were many people who still have not yet made up their minds.

Amy Meserve, 46, of Amherst, said before the event that she was still undecided but hoping to be convinced. She worries about school shootings because she is a teacher.

“I thought I was more of a Biden person,” she said before the event. “But I really want somebody who can beat Trump.”

After the rally she had changed her mind. She said she liked what Buttigieg said about gun control. She also found that his mannerisms reminded her of how Barack Obama comforted the nation after mass shootings like the one at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in 2012.


“I heard what I needed to hear,” she said. “I know I said I was a Biden person but I think I might be a Pete person.”

Meserve was at the rally with Chad and Stephanie Tanguay, of Merrimack.

Chad, 48, a Republican, said he is a small business owner and Trump’s tax cuts saved his business $25,000 in one year, but he is still so unsatisfied with the president and his tweets that he is looking for alternatives.

After the speech he noted that Buttigieg did not speak much about businesses, but he said found the mayor to be very confident.

“I think he’s for real, I could support him,” he said. But he said he will not decide until Tuesday morning which, if any, Democrat he will support.

“I think it’s going to be a game-time decision,” he said.

After his strong performance in Iowa, Buttigieg has risen in New Hampshire polls, but no national polls have come out since the caucus.

In a poll taken the same day as the caucus, the mayor was tied for fourth place with Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, with 9 percent of voters ranking him as their first choice.

Biden led in that poll with 24 percent of likely voters ranking him as their first choice, followed by Sanders with 19 percent and Warren at 18 percent. That poll, conducted by The Economist/YouGov, surveyed people on Feb. 2-4.

Buttigieg polls especially poorly among young people and voters of color. In the same poll, just 5 percent of voters ages 18-29 said he was their top choice, compared to the 42 percent of voters in that age range who chose Sanders as their first choice.


And just 4 percent of Black voters ranked Buttigieg as their first choice, compared to 43 percent of that group who chose Biden as their top choice.

Laura Krantz can be reached at laura.krantz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurakrantz.