South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will deliver the keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Las Vegas fundraiser next month.
Buttigieg, a Democrat, is the first openly gay presidential candidate. The 37-year-old has been gaining popularity in recent weeks at the Democratic field continues to grow. Eighteen Democrats have already entered the race for the 2020 nomination, with others still expected to join.
“Mayor Pete Buttigieg is changing hearts and minds across America in his trailblazing campaign to be the Democratic Party’s first out nominee for President of the United States,” HRC President Chad Griffin said in a statement Tuesday. “As a visible and outspoken advocate for LGBTQ equality, Mayor Pete has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to our community and we are honored to welcome him to our Las Vegas Dinner.”
The event is scheduled for May 11.
Buttigieg spoke about coming out with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who is also gay, on her show Monday.
“There’s this war that breaks out inside a lot of people when they realize that they might be something they’re afraid of. It took me a very long time to resolve that,” he said.
In 2015, Buttigieg came out in an opinion piece published in the South Bend Tribune before he was reelected to a second term as mayor with more than 80% of the vote.
His husband, Chasten, spoke at the organization’s Houston dinner earlier this month. The two have been married since 2018.
