Buttigieg releases ‘Rules of the Road’ campaign values

White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg (D) released a “Rules of the Road” pledge on Thursday saying he will run his campaign by a set of 10 values as Democrats aim to make presidential character a cornerstone of the 2020 election.

The South Bend, Ind., mayor pledged to operate his campaign in a way that incorporates respect, belonging, truth, teamwork, boldness, responsibility, substance, discipline, excellence and joy.

{mosads}“Pete leads with a set of values that creates a very joyful and disciplined community for the campaign staff, volunteers, and supporters,” campaign manager Mike Schmuhl said in an email to supporters, noting that Buttigieg “always drafts up some guiding principles to which he holds himself and his staff.”

The plan’s release comes amid speculation that presidential candidates will soon start to attack each other as the primary field mushrooms to 24 contenders.

Buttigieg, a political unknown on the national stage just a few months ago, is near the top tier of the primary pack, largely buoyed by viral critiques of Vice President Pence and clips of him speaking foreign languages. He has since risen in several statewide and national polls and hauled in millions of dollars in campaign donations. 

Beyond establishing a set of values for his campaign, Buttigieg vowed to supplement the pledge with substantive policies.

“There is no point mounting an unorthodox, underdog campaign unless it is one of substance. We have the opportunity to bring meaningful ideas forward for debate. We will take questions seriously and answer them directly. We will lay aside the superficial in favor of the meaningful. We embrace complicated challenges, and will work to improve the overall dialogue in how campaigns talk about policy,” he said in the pledge. 

Buttigieg this month introduced a list of policy positions on issues such as health care, infrastructure, climate change and immigration.