Among the LGBT community luminaries signing on with Buttigieg: Barry Karas, a top fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Blake Carlson’s mother took the news hard when he came out to his parents last August. “My mom and me,” he said, “pretty much completely separated for a hot second.”
Buttigieg’s rise, LGBT Democrats told BuzzFeed News, has been powerful for its symbolic moments — a major candidate kissing his husband on stage, or speaking on national television of his own coming out — but also because of the fact that Buttigieg’s sexuality has, so far, been only a piece of his candidacy.
Friends had told Karas about Buttigieg, he said, but he remembers the moment he was truly taken by him: when Buttigieg spoke earlier this month at a brunch for the Victory Fund, a group that endorses LGBT candidates. There, Buttigieg spoke of a specific thought that is painfully familiar to most gay people: the idea of magically turning himself straight.
“When I was looking at social media feeds, I thought I was living in a bubble, because it was all Mayor Pete. I thought, maybe it’s just in the LGBTQ community, especially gay men,” said Chris Massicotte, a Democratic consultant who sits on the board of the Victory Fund, which is likely to endorse Buttigieg.
Buttigieg’s admirers believe he’s risen so fast in the Democratic field not because of his sexuality — though they acknowledge that’s part of the intrigue — but, rather, his résumé and engaging style. He’s a Harvard graduate and Rhodes scholar, with consulting experience in corporate America and military service in Afghanistan. His theme of “intergenerational justice” highlights his youth, but also has captured the interest of senior citizens showing up at his events in large numbers.
But Kinderdietz had a quick reply when asked how transformative the first major gay candidate for president could be. Eychaner’s nonprofit foundation sponsors an annual Matthew Shepard Scholarship Program, named for the gay Wyoming man beat to death 20 years ago. He’sto give the keynote speech at the awards dinner in June. Buttigieg also will headline a Human Rights Campaign event next month in Las Vegas.
Still, Slater says, of seeing Buttigieg on stage with his husband, Chasten: “Ten years ago, would you have ever evenIra Madison III, a television writer and the host of the Crooked Media podcast Keep It, is co-hosting a fundraiser for Buttigieg in May, though he said he also supports other Democrats, like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. “The idea of a gay man running for president is something I want to be involved in as much as I can,” he said.
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