Hollywood stars donate thousands to Pete Buttigieg’s campaign
Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (Joe Skipper/Getty)
It appears the US presidential contender Pete Buttigieg is a firm favourite with celebrity donors, as more than 50 well-known stars opened their wallets for his 2020 campaign.
Among the celebrities to donate to the gay Presidential hopeful are the actors George Takei ($1,200), Jennifer Aniston ($250), Gwyneth Paltrow ($2,800), Michael J. Fox ($2,800), John Stamos ($1,000) and Kevin Bacon ($2,800).
The actress and singer Barbra Streisand gave $1,000, and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife, Marilyn, donated $2,800 each.
TV host Ellen DeGeneres and her wife Portia De Rossi gave $2,800, as did the Seinfeld creator Larry David and Vogue magazine’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour.
Donations to all presidential candidates are listed by the Federal Election Commission. $2,800 is the maximum amount an individual donor is permitted to give to a single candidate.
They want to support the candidacy because it’s historically important.
The generous donations helped Buttigieg reach the massive sum of $24.8 million during the second fundraising quarter, cementing him as a top White House contender.
Rufus Gifford, the finance director of President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign, told AP: “The LGBT community is very enthusiastic about supporting him.
“That does not mean they are going to vote for him, but they want to support the candidacy because it’s historically important.”
In reference to Buttigieg’s incredibly successful fundraising, he said: “He did exactly what you are supposed to do. They are seizing on opportunities, they are building infrastructure, hiring staff and working their butts off.”
Buttigieg’s campaign has had a quick trajectory
The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has quickly risen in popularity, considering he was relatively unknown before announcing his bid for the Democratic nomination in January this year.
He previously admitted he was “surprised” at the speed of the campaign.
“We believed that our message was a winning one, so we’re not surprised that our message is resonating, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that we’re a little bit surprised too, at the speed of the trajectory that we’re on,” he said.
TIME Magazine dedicated the cover to Pete Buttigieg and husband Chasten Buttigieg
“If you had gone back in time 20 years ago, to find me as an awkward teenager, and told him what 2019 was going to look like, he would not have believed you.
“If you told him I’d be standing here as a top-tier contender for the Presidency of the United States… and even more amazing, the look on my teenage face if you told him I’d be doing it with my husband looking on.”
If elected, 37-year-old Buttigieg would be the youngest and the first openly gay American president.
But a recent NBC poll placed Buttigeig fifth in a list of the most popular Democratic candidates, revealing that most respondents would vote for the former Vice President, Joe Biden.
