Huge majority of LGBT people in US think homophobia will hurt Buttigieg presidential bid
Pete Buttigieg kissing his husband Chasten. (Scott Olson/Getty)
Openly gay mayor Pete Buttigieg will be challenged by anti-gay sentiment among Democrats in his bid to be US President, according to most LGBT+ people in the US.
Buttigieg, who is currently the mayor of South Bend in Indiana, is seeking the Democratic nomination and has been open about being a gay man – including bringing his husband, Chasten, to campaign events, and them both appearing on the cover of TIME magazine.
But an overwhelming majority of 87 percent of LGBT+ people in the US think that anti-gay sentiment will hurt his presidential bid, even among Democrats, according to a new survey from Whitman Insight Strategies and BuzzFeed News.
When asked the question, “Do you think that homophobia will be a challenge for Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign during the Democratic primary?”, 87 percent agreed while only 13 percent disagreed.
Buttigieg is the only openly LGBT+ candidate seeking the Democratic nomination. He is the favourite candidate of gay men in the US.
13% of LGBT+ Americans would vote for Trump over Buttigieg
Democratic Presidential candidate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, speaks to the media as they visit the outside of a detention center for migrant children on June 28, 2019 in Homestead, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
According to the new poll, in a head-to-head between Donald Trump and Buttigieg, just 62 percent of LGBT+ people in total would vote for Buttigieg.
Thirteen percent of LGBT+ people in the US would vote for Trump over Buttigieg, while 15 percent would vote for a third-party candidate and 11 percent would not vote at all if that was the choice.
A large majority – 89 percent – of LGBT+ respondents to the survey agreed that it’s harder for LGBT+ candidates to run for public office, compared to their non-LGBT+ counterparts.
Former vice president Joe Biden fares better than Buttigieg in a head-to-head with Trump, with the support of 68 percent of LGBT+ people in the US surveyed.
Bernie Sanders has the most support of LGBT+ people in the US, though, with 72 percent of those surveyed saying they would back him against Trump.
The survey was based on interviews with 801 LGBT+ people between June 5 and June 10 2019.
