South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg answers questions during a sold-out fundraising event at Bar Lubitsch in West Hollywood, Calif., last month. By Chelsea Janes Chelsea Janes Reporter covering the 2020 presidential campaign Email Bio Follow April 6 at 1:28 PM WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.
So has the fact, Buttigieg says, that he needed the Supreme Court to give him the freedom to marry his partner, Chasten Glezman. Same-sex marriage was illegal in Indiana until 2014, and he cites that to illustrate how government alters lives; his marriage exists, he tells voters at every stop, “by the grace of one vote on the Supreme Court.”
But for now, his rise is electrifying many in the gay community, symbolizing an acceptance its members could hardly imagine even a decade ago. His campaign says it raised $7 million in the first quarter of 2019, signaling unexpected support and potential staying power in the sprawling Democratic field.
Clearly, Buttigieg’s rise hardly means homophobia is a thing of the past, any more than Barack Obama’s election marked the end of racism. A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that 68 percent of voters were comfortable with a gay presidential candidate — a big jump from previous years and an all-time high, though that 30 percent minority could prove to be vocal.
Buttigieg poses with actor Billy Eichner during the fundraising event at Bar Lubitsch in West Hollywood on March 14. That support in the gay community — or at least a desire to have his voice in the race — is translating into fundraising dollars. Broadway mogul Jordan Roth and his husband will host Buttigieg for a fundraising event. The LGBTQ Victory Fund ran a social media and email campaign to help Buttigieg cross the 65,000 donor threshold that qualifies him for the Democratic debates.
In 2015, Mike Pence, then governor of Indiana, signed the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics said legalized anti-gay discrimination if justified by religion. A short time later Buttigieg, then 33, told his parents he was gay, then penned an article in the South Bend Tribune to inform his constituents.
On the stump, Buttigieg does not avoid discussing his gay identity, but doesn’t focus on it. He talks of serving in the military, how that made him realize his time was finite, and wanting to find love. He uses his marriage to explain his understanding of why government matters, and argues forcefully that faith and a gay identity are not contradictory.
So he’s gay. 🤷🏾♂️
Pigs are also shameless
He appears to be more intelligent that all of the candidates. However foolish on the most important point.
Are you going to comment on every candidate, everyday, until the primaries ? Asking for everyone who is ALREADY tired of it.
I'm straight so I may be missing perspective LGBTQ voters have on this piece. I don't know what to make of it. I never think of him as 'the gay candidate'. I think of him as the whip smart, accomplished, phenomenal communicator who came out of nowhere to capture my attention.
He could?! Wow renewing my WaPo subscription asap for this speculative handwringing.
He is young, well educated, informed, a veteran, an author and so many things that this country needs in a leader. I can understand the pride gay folks have in him as one to relate to but he is so very, very much more.
If you vote for someone just because they're gay, or a woman, or black, you are not voting for the country! You are voting for your own selfish agenda! SaturdayThoughts
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That’s not creepy at ALL 😳
'excites the gay community' 🤔
Guess they like it because his last name starts with BUTT.
Somewhere out there, a Jill Stein lurks...beware...
MSM trying to avoid a Bernie candidacy. Presstitutes
Or he could be on the Hershey Highway......just sayin.
Wow. Really? Already trotting out the disbelief? It isn't like there is a shortage of news stories to write about. Knock it off.
I’m sure he’s faced plenty of adversity. Could you be a tad more condescending?
Yeah Rocky horror picture show
gays are still a fraction of the population, not a power voting block like evangelicals. he has an up hill battle if he runs as a gay activist, and many ppl will accuse him of such. he won't be president, Trump or Biden will be president.
well of course he does...my mom's Methodist church voted against gay marriage, gay pastor, so did my UCC...rural area churchy people are still anti gay...and will vote accordingly
Then again, maybe he couldn’t. 🙄🙄🙄
Haha I see your gay sexual innuendo reference in the title there. Good one! Let's all laugh at gays
They elected Donald Trump. DONALD TRUMP. I don’t think Pete should be given any flack whatsoever for being young or “just a mayor” or whatever. He is vastly superior to Trump in every way. He would do a fine job in the White House.
I love him!
I don't think America is quite ready for 'First Gentleman'. We need a woman POTUS first.
*cough* cocky road *cough*
it’s a non fucking issue
I like what he's been saying. I'm not thinking too much at all about the label.
Being gay IS NOT going to win you the election buddy.
Like he’s not used to facing adversity just because of who he loves 🙄. I highly doubt he is going into this blindly thinking it’s all gonna be smooth sailing. He’s probably emotionally stronger than most of the other candidates running
He has NOT made that he is GAY a focus of his campaign-have you been watching? Nope. He hasn't tried to hide that he is married to a man and thus we know who he is. Kamela Harris' husband is also deeply involved-he sends adorable tweets out all the time-so? Stop. Just stop.
Rocky road? Spare us the 'old dirt trail' puns WaPo.
you’re not convincing me!
Why would WaPo try and divert attention away from his reprobate agenda that is nothing but the same old one party secular globalist garbage by pointing out his sexual preference which is meaningless?
Why does it matter who we love?
Does he now. Exactly which gay community is that? The rich one at oxford?
He won’t fail because he’s gay. If he fails it will be because he didn’t give us enough substantive policy ideas soon enough to keep us interested. With so many candidates he needs to be rolling out policy every week to hold our attention.
Who gives a big fat rip if he's gay? Or straight? Or Catholic? Or Left handed? All this identity politics is so wearying. It's about policies, stupid. I don't care who you play with. Policy.
While it makes absolutely no difference to me, to the American voter, it matters.
i don't believe he can win
Why is this even about his sexuality?
*because sexual preference is the most relevant qualification for president according to the fake news media