BY: DM
Published 22 minutes ago
Pete Buttigieg — once mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and later Secretary of Transportation — is making history, and not just for infrastructure moves. As an openly gay man who came out in June 2015, Buttigieg has shattered ceilings and helped reshape the face of modern American politics.
Buttigieg married Chasten Buttigieg after a love story that started on Hinge in the summer of 2015. They met in person that August, and by December 2017, the politician proposed at O’Hare Airport — sealing their place in queer history. The couple tied the knot in June 2018 at the Cathedral of St. James in South Bend. In 2021, they expanded their family, adopting fraternal twins — Joseph “Gus” August and Penelope Rose.
While their family life thrives, Buttigieg’s political career is hotter than ever. A lot has changed since Buttigieg came out. Now, a poll names him as one of the leading contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Pete Buttigieg came out when he was running for mayor.
In his 2015 op-ed for The South Bend Tribune, Buttigieg revealed his sexuality while gearing up for reelection, becoming Indiana’s first openly gay elected mayor. He faced off against a political landscape shaped by Vice President Mike Pence’s anti-LGBTQ legislation, yet won reelection with over 80% of the vote, showing voters could see beyond identity.
“I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay,” Buttigieg wrote. “It took years of struggle and growth for me to recognize that it’s just a fact of life, like having brown hair, and part of who I am.”
That same moment rippled outward. In February 2021, his Senate-confirmed appointment as Secretary of Transportation marked the first time an openly LGBTQ person led a Cabinet-level department. Before coming out, Buttigieg spoke candidly about hiding and self-doubt. He described the internal war he felt — how if offered a pill to make him straight, he’d have taken it.
“If you had offered me a pill to make me straight, I would have swallowed it before you had time to give me a sip of water,” Buttigieg said per The New Yorker. “There were times in my life that, if you had shown me exactly what it was inside me that made me gay, I would have cut it out with a knife.”
Pete Buttigieg could be the democratic nominee for president.
The Emerson College poll from late June suggests Buttigieg is emerging in early conversations about the next Democratic nominee for 2028, yet the implications feel immediate. He currently edges out former Vice President Kamala Harris with 16% to 13% in hypothetical primary matchups among Democrats. That places him just behind Gavin Newsom (12%) and ahead of Josh Shapiro (7%).
Buttigieg previously addressed speculation about another presidential run, and he did not rule it out. “Right now, I’m not running for anything, and part of what’s exciting and compelling about an opportunity like this is to be campaigning for values and for ideas rather than a specific electoral campaign,” he told Fox News. “So that’s what I’m about.”
Do you think Pete Buttigieg’s sexuality will be a major factor in the 2028 election, or has the country moved past that?
