Former senior Republican joins the Democrats just so she can vote for Pete Buttigieg
Cindy Guerra said she’s registered as Democrat so that she can vote against Donald Trump, and hopefully for Pete Buttigieg. (Getty/Hillary Clinton campaign)
Pete Buttigieg has an unlikely new supporter: Cindy Guerra, the former chair of Florida’s Broward County Republican Party.
Guerra announced she had changed her registered party affiliation to Democrat so that she could vote against Donald Trump.
“Here’s the thing,” she told the Sun Sentinal.
“I am not going to vote for Donald Trump, ever. I think Pete Buttigieg is far more qualified than Donald Trump.”
The former county chair campaigned for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, before officially she officially left the party.
Until now she had been registered as having no party affiliation, but made the switch because of her strong opposition to Trump.
“I supported Hillary Clinton because there was no way I was going to support Donald Trump because I knew that everything that is happening was going to happen,” she told the Sentinal.
I didn’t really imagine it was going to be quite as bad, but here we are.
Of the former South Bend, Indiana mayor, she said: “Pete Buttigieg is far more qualified than Donald Trump. I think he’s far more intelligent. I think he is far more humane.”
Whether Buttigieg will get the chance to face Trump in the poll depends on whether he can secure enough delegates in the Democratic presidential primaries and caucuses.
He won a narrow victory in Iowa, with 13 projected delegates to Bernie Sanders’ 12, having topped the popular vote by a margin of two.
Sanders won the popular vote in the New Hampshire primary, but both men were awarded nine projected delegates each.
This means that Buttigieg is currently leading the race, however this is expected to change as more states cast their votes, with Sanders leading most national polls.
Pete Buttigieg has been criticised by LGBT+ groups.
Despite his early successes, Buttigieg is struggling in a number of demographics, including the Black community and the LGBT+ community.
A campaign group called Queers Against Pete has rallied against the moderate, accusing him of neglecting “the most vulnerable in our community”.
An open letter signed by 3,400 people said: “There has been much talk about identity and diversity in the race to win the Democratic party nomination for president.
“Some have touted former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s openly gay identity as proof of progress in our politics. However, being gay is not enough to earn the support of LGBTQIA communities.”
