CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — As Democratic presidential hopefuls court support from voters by painting themselves as leaders on LGBT issues, one candidate would appear to have a distinct advantage: openly gay South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
But despite being part of their community, attendees at a GLAAD LGBTQ forum on Friday said that Buttigieg’s sexual orientation and potential to be the first openly gay presidential nominee does not guarantee support from LGBT voters.
“It’s not necessarily automatic that he’s necessarily going to be the right candidate for LGBT issues,” said Tucker Dangremond, a 24-year-old medical student at the University of Iowa.
Andrew Lenz, 38, noted that Buttigieg was one of the last presidential candidates to confirm attendance at the forum, which unsettled many people in the LGBT community. “I actually think Buttigieg is held to a higher standard” because he is gay, said Lenz, who works in business development.
Buttigieg has not made LGBT issues the center of his campaign, disappointing some LGBT rights leaders. But he has has pushed back on criticisms. On Thursday, Buttigieg criticized LGBT outlets that have made him their cover star for implying that he is not enough of an advocate for the community because of how he presents himself.
“I can’t even read the LGBT media anymore, because it’s all ‘too gay, not gay enough, wrong kind of gay,’” Buttigieg said in a radio interview.
A Slate article from April argued that Buttigieg “would register on only the most finely tuned gaydar,” meaning that “he might not be up against quite the same hurdles that a gay candidate without such sturdy ties to straight culture would be.”
Albie Nicol, a 20-year-old student, said he has “definitely seen” that sentiment toward Buttigieg “in the community” but disagrees with it. “If you identify anywhere under the LGBTQ umbrella, you are enough,” Nicol said. “He’s a presidential candidate, of course he has to hold himself differently than he would in private.”
Others at the forum were unconcerned with Buttigieg’s personal demeanor. “With the seriousness of these issues right now, I think we’re all really looking at the issues and not necessarily the gender or the race. We need someone who’s going to be strong and stand up for everyone,” said Tommi Karma, 43, who works in a home for adults with disabilities.
While attendees found Buttigieg “gay enough,” some were let down by his forum performance.
“After listening to his speech, I think it fell a little flat,” Cedar Rapids hair stylist Jess Karma, 36, said. While Karma liked Buttigieg “on most of his points,” she thought New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker left a bigger impression.
At the GLAAD forum, Buttigieg talked about his personal experience as a gay man and “exclusions that continue in this country,” such as not being able to give blood due to Federal Drug Administration regulations barring men who have sex with men from giving blood for 12 months.
But Buttigieg rattled off many LGBT policies that are echoed by other candidates: ending President Trump’s ban on transgender individuals in the military, signing the Equality Act (a bill that states it prohibits “discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation”), and advocating for a federal ban on “conversion therapy.”
“He was actually my first choice for a while. And then I think I saw something about him not wanting felons to vote, and that’s a big issue for me,” said Nicol, a 20-year-old student. Buttigieg opposes allowing felons to vote while they are in prison but supports voting rights for felons after they serve their time. Nicol now supports and volunteers for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign.
“Regardless of a person’s sexuality, it’s where they stand on all issues that are important to all Americans … that will get the person elected,” said Lenz.
