As Pete Buttigieg Courts Black Voters, His Sexuality Is a Hurdle for Some A Buttigieg campaign memo that surfaced last week suggested “being gay was a barrier” to support from some black voters in South Carolina.
An Iowa Democratic caucus voter who agreed to back Pete Buttigieg rescinded her support after learning that the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor is gay and married to another man. “Are you saying that he has the same-sex partner? Pete?” the voter said on a video of her electoral about-face that went viral Tuesday after it was posted on Twitter by filmmaker Annabel Park.
“Are you kidding?” she said.
“Yes,” replied Nikki van den Heever, who was wrangling votes for Buttigieg at the caucus. “He’s married to him.”