Amy Klobuchar: Buttigieg Wouldn't Attract Voters If He Were Female

A woman with Pete Buttigieg's political experience wouldn't be taken seriously or win a place on the presidential debate stage, says Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Klobuchar made the comment about the South Bend, Ind., mayor, one of her rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.

"Of the women on the stage -- I'm focusing here on my fellow women senators, Sen. [Kamala] Harris, Sen. [Elizabeth] Warren, and myself -- do I think that we would be standing on that stage if we had the experience that he had? No, I don't," Klobuchar told host Jake Tapper.

"Maybe we're held to a different standard," she continued. "But my goal is to get the best candidate to lead the ticket -- I believe that's me."

Buttigieg, who is in his second term as mayor of the mid-sized city, is the first openly gay candidate to have a spot in a national presidential debate, and he has appeared in all the Democratic forums so far this year; candidates are picked for the debates based on support in polls and fundraising.

Klobuchar said she believes he's qualified to be president, but she's the better candidate. "I'm the one from the Midwest that has actually won in a statewide race over and over again," said Klobuchar, who has been elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. Senate three times. She noted that she has attracted swing voters.

"Those are the kind of voters I've won, and that is not true of Mayor Pete -- that is just a fact," she added. "I also am someone that has passed multiple bills as a lead Democrat, important bills in Washington, D.C. He's had a different experience."

Buttigieg has often pointed to his military service, which includes deployment to Afghanistan, as a noteworthy part of his resume in addition to his time as mayor of South Bend, the only elective office he has held. Recently in Iowa, a reporter asked him if a woman his age (37) who had a similar level of political experience would appeal to voters as much as he has.

"I don't know," he replied, but he added, "I'll say that if a female mayor from my generation from the industrial Midwest with the message and vision that I am putting forward and a war record and all the rest of it emerged, I would have thought twice about whether to compete with her or whether to just support her campaign."

Watch Klobuchar's interview below, where she also discussed the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump and the possible entry of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg into the presidential race.