Can Pete Buttigieg win the presidency?

What’s happening

A poll released earlier this week showed Pete Buttigieg leading the Democratic presidential primary pack in Iowa for the first time. A new poll released on Saturday showed him as the clear front-runner. The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., was a virtual unknown when he announced his campaign in April, but he has recently surged in states that will be among the first to vote in the primary.

Buttigieg, an openly gay military veteran, was the top choice of 25 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers, outpacing long-standing...