Pete Buttigieg Has Already Raised a Historic $7M From Supporters

Rising star and presidential hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg has made history, again.

The virtual unknown outside Indiana politics until the past few weeks has released preliminary fundraising figures early Monday morning that show $7 million dollars raised in his effort to become America's first openly gay president.

"We (you) are out-performing expectations at every turn," Buttigieg told supporters on social media. "I'll have a more complete analysis later, but until then: a big thank you to all our supporters."

Notably, it was just mid-March when Buttigieg's campaign announced donations from 65,000 separate donors, enough to qualify Buttigieg for the first Democratic presidential debate.

The Democratic National Committee has since announced the first debates will be held on June 26 and 27 in Miami and will be nationally broadcast on NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo.

DNC Chair Tom Perez said rules candidates must have donations from at least 20 states in order to be given a chance to reach a broader audience.

"Throughout every step of this process, we've focused on empowering the grassroots and ensuring that we hold the most transparent, inclusive, and fair primary in our party's history," he said, which has created a unique opportunity for candidates likethe mayor.

Buttigieg has drawn the attention of national media and already appeared on widely watched mainstream shows after only launching his campaign in January.

He told The Advocatethen the country seemed ready a gay, millennial president, noting since coming out he's won re-election in South Bend with 80 percent of the vote.

"We've come such a long way," he said then.