Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg reacted to the video of an Iowa caucus voter who asked to change her vote after finding out he was gay.
Buttigieg addressed the viral moment during his Thursday appearance on The View.
“Well, what I want her to know is that I’m running to be her president too,” he began.
“Of course, I wish she was able to see that my love is the same as her love for those that she cares about, that my marriage means as much to me as hers if she’s married,” the presidential candidate said. “But, if she can’t see that, and even if because she can’t see that, she won’t vote for me, I am still, if I am elected president, going to get up in the morning and try to make the best decisions for her and the people that she loves as I will work to serve every American, whether they supported me or not.”
“We all come at faith in a different way,” Buttigieg added. “This is a country that belongs to people of every religion and of no religion. I’ve been very open about my faith because I want to remind people that you don’t have to vote a certain way because of your faith.”
The voter, who had pledged to caucus for Buttigieg, was stunned to find out that he’s in a same-sex marriage and asked to change her vote as a result of the revelation. She also questioned how the information surrounding the former mayor’s sexuality was not more well-known, adding that her support for him “just went right down the toilet is where it all just went.”
Buttigieg and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders are in a dead heat for the Iowa caucus delegates amid a number of inconsistencies and glitches in Iowa Democrats’ reporting. According to current official results with 96% of precincts reporting, with inconsistencies, Buttigieg has 26.2% of state delegate equivalents, and Sanders has 26.1%.
