Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg said Sunday that he has “every confidence” he could win over religious African American voters in the general election.

“We are working very hard to engage people across the party, but especially black voters, ” the South Bend, Ind., mayor told Chuck Todd on “Meet The Press,” arguing that his candidacy represented a “moment” that could be used to bridge both black and gay voters. “Anybody who has been on the short end of an equation of exclusion has a way to sympathize with people who’ve had different experiences with exclusion in this country.”