Jul 26
Pete Buttigieg: Voters Are Ready for a Gay Vice President
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is reportedly being considered as a running mate for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. If chosen, together, the pair will make for a historic ticket, and Buttigieg said voters are more than ready for a gay vice president.
"I'm not saying [homphobia] not a thing, but I'm saying it's been extraordinary how people look past that," Buttigieg told TMZ.com. "When I came out, I was in the middle of reelection in my hometown in Mike Pence's Indiana, and I wound up getting a higher proportion of the vote than the first time, because the city I was mayor of thought I did a good job."
Polls show that Buttigieg is the preferred running mate of choice Harris, in addition to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), reported LGBTQ Nation. Yet Whitmer has publicly stated that she is not interested in the job, and she has not been contacted about being vetted. This could leave the role wide open for Buttigieg.
Harris other choices reportedly include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
"When I ran for president [in 2020]," he said, "part of how I won Iowa was that I wound up doing especially well in right-leaning and conservative counties, these counties that voted for Obama and then voted for Trump."
According to Buttigieg, that told him that ideas and vision win over personal attacks.
"Despite all of the things that stand in the way of fairness in this country, the truth is it's extraordinary what people can and will do," said Buttigieg.
If he is selected as vice president, Buttigieg said his strategy is going to be "the same no matter what, and that is to tell the world about the kind of leader Kamala Harris is."
He added, "You can go through issue and issue," he added. "I know there's more to politics than policy, but I think we just gotta remind everybody that they already agree with us."
