Howard Dean Endorses South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg for DNC Chair

The Democratic Party's leadership is "old and creaky" and needs a leader who can connect with its young voting base, and Pete Buttigieg, the 36-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is the candidate the party should pick as a chairman that will lead it forward, former Vermont governor and Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Wednesday.

"The most important thing, he's the outside the Beltway candidate," Dean, a one-time presidential candidate, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "This party is in trouble. Our strongest age group that votes for us is under 35, and they don't consider themselves Democrats."

Younger voters elected Barack Obama to two presidencies, Dean continued, and came out to vote by 58 percent for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. However, the under-35 voters aren't coming out to vote during midterm elections or down-ballot races, he said.

"Our leadership is old and creaky, including me," Dean said. "We've got to have this guy, 36-years-old, running this party."

Most of the Democratic leadership, Dean continued, is in its 60s and 70s, "and if you want to change this party, you've got to have leadership that looks like the people you're going to change."

Dean said he also believes that someone is needed with administrative experience, which Buttigieg has from his service as mayor and from the military, including serving in two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

"Pete's organized and he's been in an area that most people wouldn't want to go to, Afghanistan," said Dean. "I just think this guy's the real deal. And I think this is the only way that we're going to capture this generation and get them to align with the Democratic Party. This is our future.

"This is not just about a 50-state strategy; it's about a 50-year strategy. And we can't do it unless we're willing to pivot to outside the Beltway."

The ballot for the DNC chairmanship race will go out on Wednesday, NPR reports, with members voting during the party's meeting in Atlanta on Saturday and using as many rounds of voting as needed for one of the candidates to reach 224 votes.

The person selected will replace interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile, who took on the job last July. Brazile replaced Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who stepped down after WikiLeaks released several damaging emails written by DNC officials talking about how to hurt Sen. Bernie Sanders in his primary election bid.

Early Wednesday, President Donald Trump weighed in on the DNC leadership battle, tweeting that one of the leading contenders for the job, Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, "predicted early that I would win."

Ellison and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez are widely considered as the main contenders for the chairmanship.

• Joe Biden Backs Tom Perez in Race for DNC Chair
• Former VP Mondale Endorses Ellison for DNC Chair