Simone Lawson
Pete Buttigieg is an American politician who served as the 19th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2021 to 2025. He was also the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the first openly gay candidate to seek the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 election cycle. In this paragraph, we will discuss how to donate to his political campaign.
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What You'll Learn
How to donate to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, was the first openly gay candidate to seek the Democratic nomination for president. His 2020 presidential campaign was formally announced on April 14, 2019, in South Bend.
Buttigieg's campaign touted his record in reducing the African-American poverty rate in South Bend and initiatives such as creating the city's first Officer for Diversity and Inclusion in 2016. Buttigieg's popular slogan was "Win The Era," with a message of generational change.
Buttigieg's campaign gained prominence, winning the most delegates in the Iowa caucuses and tying with Bernie Sanders for the most delegates in the New Hampshire primary. However, after a poor showing in the South Carolina primary, Buttigieg suspended his campaign on March 1, 2020.
During his campaign, Buttigieg faced pressure from his party's progressive base to disavow lobbyist money. He eventually announced that his campaign would no longer accept contributions from federal lobbyists and returned $30,250 in donations from them. He also barred lobbyists from acting as bundlers, or major fundraisers, and rejected money from corporate PACs and fossil fuel firms.
Despite this, Buttigieg's campaign attracted enthusiasm from top Democratic fundraisers. Notable donors included former national security advisor Susan Rice, who donated $1,000, and James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, who donated $2,800. Actor Ryan Reynolds gave $250, and actress Mandy Moore donated $2,500.
If you were interested in donating to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign, you could have done so through his campaign website. However, as Buttigieg is no longer running for president, his website is no longer active, and it is not possible to donate to his campaign.
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Who donated to Pete Buttigieg's campaign?
Pete Buttigieg is an American politician and former naval officer who served as the Secretary of Transportation from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, from 2012 to 2020. Buttigieg is a member of the Democratic Party and ran in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, launching his campaign on April 14, 2019. He became the first openly gay man to launch a Democratic presidential campaign.
Buttigieg's presidential campaign attracted donations from a variety of sources, including individuals and organizations. According to an analysis by Forbes, forty billionaires and their spouses donated to his campaign, making him a favorite among America's richest people. Some notable billionaire donors include:
- David Geffen, a producer
- Reed Hastings, the Netflix chief executive
- Mimi Haas, a major Levi's shareholder
- Jon Stryker, an heir to the Stryker Corp. medical device fortune
- Bill Ackman, Philippe Laffont, and Seth Klarman, hedge fund billionaires
- Jennifer Pritzker, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who inherited a chunk of the Hyatt hotels fortune
- Daryl Roth, the wife of Trump business partner Steven Roth
In addition to billionaire donors, Buttigieg also received support from top employees at McKinsey & Company, where he previously worked. According to The Guardian, forty employees contributed to his campaign, and they also headlined fundraising events. This raised questions about his ties to the company and resulted in criticism from some quarters.
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How much money did Pete Buttigieg's campaign raise?
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, launched his campaign for the 2020 presidential election on April 14, 2019. He was the first openly gay man to launch a Democratic presidential campaign and the youngest candidate in the 2020 primary race at 38 years old. Buttigieg's campaign raised a significant amount of money, with the total amount raised varying depending on the source and the timeframe considered.
According to an article in CNBC, Buttigieg raised $24.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. This hauls in a total of \$76 million since he entered the race in April, with 733,000 individual donors contributing to his campaign. Buttigieg's campaign manager, Mike Schmuhl, touted this fundraising haul as an indication of Buttigieg's strength in the race, especially considering they did not have the same fundraising lists as more established politicians.
Another source mentions that Buttigieg's campaign raised over $24.8 million in the second quarter of 2019, with $22.6 million cash on hand and a total of 400,000 donors. This amount included funds from 230,000 new donors, showcasing the momentum behind Buttigieg's campaign.
It is worth noting that Buttigieg's campaign also faced some criticism regarding the secrecy of his fundraisers. In response, Buttigieg released a list of his campaign's biggest financial supporters, which included Wall Street and Hollywood figures.
Overall, Buttigieg's campaign raised a substantial amount of money, positioning him competitively in the Democratic primary race and allowing him to gain recognition and traction in national polls.
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How to donate to Pete Buttigieg's campaign without using a PAC
Political Action Committees (PACs) are organizations that pool contributions from members and donate those funds to campaigns. Corporations themselves cannot donate to candidates at the federal level, but federal candidates can receive contributions from corporate PACs, employees, and owners.
- Direct Individual Contributions: Individuals can donate directly to a political campaign fund. According to federal law, candidates must disclose the names of contributors and the amounts they contribute. However, it is worth noting that candidates with strong grassroots support, like Pete Buttigieg, may receive donations from friends, neighbors, and local communities.
- Dark Money Groups: These are organizations that spend millions of dollars on elections without revealing the sources of their funding. Pete Buttigieg has been criticized for not disclosing the donors to his dark money group, which is legal but may raise concerns about transparency.
- Special Interest Groups and Lobbyists: Special interest groups and lobbyists can contribute to political campaigns, and their donations are often industry-specific. For example, Pete Buttigieg received support from Thomas New, a registered federal lobbyist and Democratic Party veteran, and MWH, an engineering firm with a political action committee.
It is important to note that the use of PACs, super PACs, and dark money groups is a common practice in political campaigns, and candidates across the political spectrum utilize these avenues for fundraising. While individuals can donate directly to a campaign, the influence of outside groups and their coordination with campaigns is a complex and often scrutinized aspect of the political funding landscape in the United States.
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Pete Buttigieg's campaign finances and lobbyists
Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the first openly gay Democrat to run for President, has had a complex relationship with lobbyists and campaign finances. While he initially accepted money from lobbyists, he later reversed his stance and refunded over $30,000 to federal lobbyists. This was in line with pledges made by other Democratic presidential candidates to swear off big money in politics.
Buttigieg's early campaign finances, particularly for his first mayoral campaign, were supported by numerous lobbyists and prospective government contractors interested in doing business with South Bend. A 2011 pre-primary filing analysis revealed that his early supporters represented a diverse range of the electorate, from students to retirees. However, the original 2011 campaign finance disclosure forms were destroyed by Saint Joseph County, Indiana, making it challenging to fully trace the sources of his early campaign funding.
Despite his later refusal of lobbyist donations, Buttigieg continued to rely on well-connected "bundlers" for effective fundraising. This strategy proved successful, allowing him to raise more money than most other 2020 presidential candidates. In 2017, Buttigieg launched a "hybrid" super PAC called "Hitting Home," which distributed $37,000 among Democrats running for Congress in conservative districts. This PAC raised approximately $400,000 in a year and a half, with significant donations from prominent individuals such as the Simon sisters and real estate developer Henry van Ameringen.
Buttigieg's top corporate donors in 2018 included Michigan's Four Winds Casino and the Niles-based Selge Construction Company. He also received substantial donations from individuals like Gurley Leep Automotive Group President Mike Leep, engineering firm Lochmueller Group CEO Michael Hinton, and Mark Neal of the Bradley Company. From January 2016 to December 2018, Buttigieg raised almost $370,000 for his "Pete for South Bend" campaign committee, with $119,000 cash on hand as per his latest filing. However, federal law prohibits the transfer of these municipal campaign funds to a federal-level presidential account.
As of 2025, Buttigieg is considering his political future, deliberating between running for Senate in Michigan or seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
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Frequently asked questions
Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign is over, and he is no longer accepting donations.
Pete Buttigieg's campaign committee was called "Win The Era PAC". The top donors to his 2020 campaign included billionaires, political action committees (PACs), and dark money groups.
Pete Buttigieg's campaign raised over $24.8 million in the second quarter of 2019, with funds from 230,000 donors.
Yes, Pete Buttigieg received donations from lobbyists. On April 26, 2019, Buttigieg announced that his campaign would no longer accept donations from registered lobbyists and returned $30,250 in donations.
Pete Buttigieg's major political positions included the abolition of the United States Electoral College, support for a public health insurance option, universal background checks for gun purchases, and protecting the environment by addressing climate change.
