How Pete Buttigieg's Sexuality Shaped His Campaign

When asked directly, voters said they considered it a non-issue, or even evidence of how far the country has come.“For the gay candidate to have twice the crowd of [Elizabeth] Warren or [Bernie] Sanders or anybody else in these little rural towns, that gives me some faith in humanity,” says Scott Matter, a Buttigieg precinct captain and a former Republican. “You feel a different level of pressure to be the most, the best, the strongest, especially if there’s something gnawing at you that makes you think there’s something about you that’s wrong or off,” Buttigieg told comedian Jon Lovett on his podcast, Lovett or Leave It, adding that he had “a little more bandwidth because dating wasn’t available for me.”“You just find places for your energy. “I think that’s something that a lot of young gay people have been through: this desire to prove that you aren’t defined by it, while also going through that long and difficult process of not just viewing it as something you have to deal it but viewing it as a positive, important aspect of yourself that allows you to have insight into what it’s like to be marginalized in some way.”Buttigieg’s sexuality—and the years of struggle and isolation that came with it—have informed his central argument about difference and belonging, allowing him to position himself as the candidate of inclusion for anybody who feels excluded from the Democratic party.