Coming from South Bend Indiana, not many may know who Pete Buttigieg is except for the fact that he appeared, for a time, to be rising to the top of the Democratic primary race.  Last night, however, the run came to an end.

Buttigieg was born in South Bend, Indiana to Anne Montgomery, a native of Indiana, and Joseph Buttigieg, an immigrant from Malta. Buttigieg served as Mayor of South Bend and as a lieutenant in the United States Navy, where he served in Afghanistan before his term as mayor.

Buttigieg, despite only being mayor of a small town, made quite a storm among the Democratic candidates. The youngest Democratic candidate running, he won the Iowa Caucus in delegates while only 2,000 votes behind Bernie Sanders in the popular vote, making the winner in Iowa a tie between the two. Then in New Hampshire, Sanders won nine delegates as did Buttigieg, but the Vermont senator passed Buttigieg with just above 3,000 votes. Buttigieg still seemed to be climbing to the top as a new rival against Bernie Sanders.

Climate change

Buttigieg developed a proactive plan that consists of three different parts to help push the United States into combating climate change. The three parts are “Build a Clean Economy,” “Invest in Resilience,” and “Demonstrate Leadership.” Inside the first part, Buttigieg calls for the U.S. to enter into a Green New Deal and apply a carbon tax, where all the money will go back to the American people, and build up facilities meant to produce clean energy. Part two consists of creating a “National Catastrophic Disaster Insurance,” where people who are affected by a climate change-caused natural disaster will be insured. Part three is where Buttigieg will “convene local and regional leaders from around the country and world in a Pittsburgh summit aimed at developing buy-in for decisive and bold climate action at a local level.” He also calls for using his authority to help reduce carbon emissions.

College Affordability

Since Buttigieg is a firm believer that every person deserves to go to college, he has a plan to make public college affordable for families who have an income under $100,000 or if they have multiple children. Families who make under $150,000 will have “substantial tuition subsidies” states will be required to provide affordable access to their in-state schools. He also calls for Pell Grants to be expanded by increasing the maximum number of Pell Grants by 1,000. Buttigieg also has other motives in making college affordable and reducing the debt for students.

Health Care

The cost of prescription drugs in the US out-of-pocket is around $6,800 per year, according to AARP. Buttigieg plans to cap out the cost of prescription drugs to $200 a month, make the co-payments of generic drugs for low-income people who are insured by Medicare, Medicaid, and even Pete’s public plan to cost zero dollars. Buttigieg has a plan called “Medicare for All Who Want It ,” where he’s developed a plan to cover millions of Americans who are uninsured. Under his plan, a family that earns $31K and usually pays about $1,200 annually for medical expenses will pay a max of $600 for higher quality coverage. On abortion, Buttigieg is a believer in a woman’s right to choose. He plans on abolishing the Hyde Amendment, where Medicaid is blocked from funding and providing abortion services. He also plans to expand abortion services in more clinics across the US.

Pete Buttigieg announced his withdrawal from the presidential campaign Sunday night in his hometown. Many of his followers have called for him to run again in 2024 so they can all say “Re-Pete.”  Regardless, his ideas for policies will live on in the political arena.

For more information on Pete Buttigieg and his plans for the US, visit his presidential website, which is still active at the time of this article’s publication.