Pete Buttigieg attracted a packed house of several thousand supporters on Sunday as he formally announced his candidacy for president of the United States.

Although Buttigieg, 37, has been in the thick of the 2020 race for several weeks, he made it official in South Bend, Ind., the city he has led as mayor since 2012. The large crowd in attendance added legitimacy to talk that Buttigieg is a serious candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.