House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said there is “no question” Pete Buttigieg’s sexual orientation and views on same-sex marriage are an obstacle for the 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful obtaining support from older black voters.
“That’s a generational issue. I know of a lot of people my age who feel that way,” Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, said on CNN Sunday when asked whether Buttigieg being gay explains his struggle to gain support from black voters in South Carolina.
Clyburn, a longtime South Carolina Democratic congressman, said that while there is “no question” his sexual orientation is an issue for older black voters, “I’m not going to sit here and tell you otherwise. Because I think everybody knows that is an issue.”
An internal campaign memo obtained by McClatchy’s the State newspaper last month suggested that Buttigieg’s sexual orientation was a “barrier” for black voters in South Carolina supporting him. In a focus group of 24 uncommitted black voters, some cited it as a negative, “particularly for the men who seemed deeply uncomfortable even discussing it.”
The South Bend, Indiana, mayor has struggled to gain support from black voters in the state, who make up a majority of Democratic primary voters. A Post and Courier South Carolina poll released last week found that while he had 9% support overall, he had 5% support among black voters.
Clyburn noted that younger black voters are more accepting of Buttigieg, pointing to his grandson.
“It’s an issue not the way it used to be. My own grandson is very much for him. He is a paid staffer working on the campaign, working on the campus of HBCU’s throughout South Carolina, and so he doesn’t care what anybody my age thinks,” Clyburn said.
Buttigieg responded to Clyburn’s comments in a CNN interview on Monday.
“Some of what we’re hearing in South Carolina reminds me of South Bend, a place where there are a lot of Democrats but a lot of socially conservative Democrats,” Buttigieg said. “At the end of the day, I think the reason why people in my community moved past that and reelected me and the reason we’re going to be able to earn votes in every part of the country is that elections are about this: They’re about voters asking the question, how will my life be different if you get elected president versus somebody else? I think we have the best answer to that question.”
