The scene took place Monday evening during the Iowa caucus. After choosing Pete Buttigieg, a voter in the Democratic primary asked to be able to change her vote upon learning that he was gay. There followed a tense exchange with a representative of the young candidate, who tried to argue that "God loves everyone" and that a candidate's sexual orientation "should not be important if you like his program . "
The conservative values of this rural state did not prevent Pete Buttigieg (pronounced [bou-dè-djèdj]) from achieving a good performance: the former mayor of South Bend and Bernie Sanders are neck and neck, according to preliminary figures released by their campaign Monday evening, pending the official results to be announced this Tuesday with a big delay due to a computer bug.
"I don't want someone like that at the White House"
To understand the scene, you have to go back to the complex process of a caucus, in which voters organize themselves in groups around a representative of a candidate. The voter supported Senator Amy Klobuchar, but her group was not large enough to advance to the second round. So she had to support another candidate and chose Pete Buttigieg. After signing the register, she learned that he was gay and wanted to back down.
#PeteButtigieg precinct captain in rural Iowa responds to a caucus-goer flipping out upon learning that he has a same-sex partner. It's a masterclass in patience, persistence, and love. Bravo @nikkiheever #IowaCaucuses #cresco #howardcountyiowa pic.twitter.com/PhX7vRFh8X
- Annabel Park (@annabelpark) February 4, 2020"Are you telling me he has a same-sex partner?" Pete? She asked the candidate's representative. "Yes, he is married," replies the young woman. "So I don't want anyone like that in the White House," says the voter, asking that she be returned her bulletin.
Obviously embarrassed, the campaign representative for Buttigieg said that the former mayor of South Bend (Indiana) "is a human being, like you and me, and that shouldn't be important." "How come we didn't say anything before?" Asks the voter, who claims "never to have known" the sexual orientation of the moderate candidate. Buttigieg campaigned alongside her husband, Chasten, and spoke regularly about his homosexuality and his faith.
Buttigieg puts everything on Iowa
"Why is it said in the Bible that a man should marry a woman," continues the voter. "I totally respect your point of view," says the representative, smiling. "I think we have differences of interpretation, my God loves everyone," she said, keeping her calm when the voter accused her of not being a believer. It is not known if the voter finally resumed her ballot.
Buttigieg almost all bet on this first ballot to try to ride the wave of a first or a second place. "Iowa, you surprised the country," he said, when the results had not yet been published due to a computer bug. Far from the three favorites (Biden, Sanders and Warren) in the national polls, the young candidate (37 years old) suffers in particular from a lack of support in the black electorate, which could be crippling in the south of the country, in particular in South Carolina, February 29.
World
Democratic primary: Sanders claims to be leading in Iowa ahead of Buttigieg, according to his own figures
- Democratic primary
- American presidential election