Telegraph photo by DEAN SHALHOUP Waving posters while cheering, supporters greet Democratic presidential primary candidate Pete Buttigieg at his get-out-the-vote appearance Sunday at Elm Street Middle School.

NASHUA – Democratic presidential primary hopeful Pete Buttigieg wasted no time in inticing his overflow audience into a round of raucous cheers moments after he took the stage for Sunday’s get-out-the-vote campaign rally in Nashua.

“I’m asking you to form in your mind the image that guides a lot of what this campaign is doing … it’s the image of how it’s going to feel when the sun comes up over Nashua and Donald Trump is no longer the president of the United States,” Buttigieg said, triggering the cheering that morphed into a “Pete, Pete, Pete” chant.

Folks from Greater Nashua and well beyond, including press that traveled here from other countries to cover New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary, filled to capacity Elm Street Middle School’s Chestnut Street gym early Sunday afternoon to see, hear and try to shake the hand of the mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

“Here we are … decision time,” Buttigieg said. “It’s so critical we get this right. So much is on the line, and I know how seriously you here in New Hampshire take your votes.”

Buttigieg’s Nashua visit came in the midst of a busy day featuring a packed agenda that began with a series of national TV appearances, including CNN’s State of the Union, NBC’s Meet the Press, CBS’s Face the Nation and Fox News, followed by afternoon GOTV rallies in Dover, Salem and Londonderry.

The mood at the rallies was undoubtedly buoyed by a new CNN/University of New Hampshire Survey Center poll released Sunday morning that showed Buttigieg running a strong second to Bernie Sanders. Among likely primary voters, according to the poll, Sanders leads with 28 percent, while 21 percent favor Buttigieg and 12 percent for Biden.

Nashua Mayor Jim Donchess and U.S. Congresswoman Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, who are among Buttigieg’s endorsers, took the stage ahead of Buttigieg.

Donchess said he is backing Buttigieg because “he is the kind of person who can take on Donald Trump and win in November.

“I think we all know this is the most important, the most consequential, election of our lifetimes,” Donchess said, adding that “we need a man of vision like Pete Buttigieg to take on the main issues that have gotten worse over the past four years.”

Kuster echoed Donchess’s sentiments, telling the capacity crowd that Buttigieg is the candidate who knows “how to turn the page” and win the White House in November.

The current race for the White House, Buttigieg told listeners, is unlike any other in recent history, “which means we can’t take the risk of using the same playbook as in the past,” he said.

“We need to be smart about this … we’re dealing with the most disruptive, the most divisive, president of our time.”

Buttigieg reiterated his stance on the major issues of both the primary and general elections, such as the United States’ ongoing involvement in military operations around the world.

The nation should be “honoring our troops not just with bumper stickers, but (by bringing) an end to these endless wars,” he said to applause, which continued when he said, if elected, he would “make this a country where your race has no bearing on your health, your wealth, or your relationship with law enforcement.”

Buttigieg answered several questions that attendees submitted ahead of time, among them a request to “address the ‘billionaires for Pete’ criticism.”

Appearing eager to answer, Buttigieg said his campaign “is powered by more than two million individual contributions,” the average of which is “under 40 bucks.”

Noting the campaign “doesn’t take corporate PAC money,” Buttigieg said that “some of the people who support our campaign have a lot of money,” but if elected, “I’m going to expect them to pay more in taxes … (and) I invite them to contribute as much as they can toward our mission of defeating Donald Trump.”

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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